Fullmetal Flames
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: Tsuna Sawada is a perfectly ordinary kid, with a baby brother he'd kill to protect. At least, until the day his 'father' brought home that old man and he awakened a dormant power. He's no fool, and escaping the seal opens up a whole new world for him and his younger brother Haruto. He is determined to carve his own path in the world of the mafia.
1. Chapter 1

When he was very little, he found his reason to get strong. Haruto was his younger brother by almost a year, and was very kind. Whereas Tsunayoshi was a bit of a loudmouth who was quick to jump into things headfirst, without hesitation.

The two were almost complete opposites... except Tsuna was very protective and loved his little brother. And Haruto trusted his older brother to be there when he needed him.

Even if he did get in over his head so often it wasn't funny.

And then everything changed. It had started out small, mostly when Tsuna found out their father was one-half Italian and even worked in Italy. The long distance being his "father's" excuse for why he was never home, and left his poor wife alone with two children on her own.

So Tsuna used the public library and learned basic Italian. He had it mastered in a week.

He could hold a simple conversation, but that was about it.

One day, their father came home with some important guests. One was an old man who insisted they call him "grandfather", and he had a bodyguard with him named "Coyote".

While he was playing with Haruto, the ball got kicked too far and landed in the tree. Tsuna climbed it with the ease of a monkey to get it... and the branch snapped.

He vaguely remembered what happened. One minute he was falling to an almost certain broken arm, the next he was _floating_.

He brushed off his pants and held out the ball proudly to his little brother... except he saw the look of shock in the eyes of the adult men. Something about the way his "Father" looked at him sent shivers of apprehension down his spine.

Thanks to the door being partially open, Tsuna heard his 'father' arguing with the old man. Something about a "seal"...though he couldn't be certain, he was still trying to learn Italian.

Haruto didn't know anything was wrong... until their father took Tsuna inside and the old man's hand lit up with orange fire, much weaker than the one his brother had an hour ago.

He didn't see what happened, but one minute the old man went to poke at his brother's head...the next there was a loud yelp of pain and the sound of breaking glass. He turned and saw a slightly bleeding Tsuna who was already making a run for it.

Haruto was used to being dragged along with his brother, but he had the feeling this time it was important. The men should _not_ catch them. They needed to escape, to hide from them.

Haruto and Tsuna take off running as if their lives depended on it. And Tsuna made very, very sure that his brother stayed with him.

* * *

 _Two hours later..._

"Brother? What happened? Why are we running?" asked Haruto scared.

Tsuna was taking deep lungfuls of air, but his eyes were sharp and clear. There was a certain _depth_ to them, like he was seeing the world with eyes much older than his five year old body would suggest.

Tsuna patted Haruto on the head.

"It's okay little brother."

Haruto turned his brown eyes at his big brother. He was scared. Something was happening and he had no idea how to handle this.

"That man tried to do something. Something bad that shouldn't be done. So I made sure he had something else to think about and that you weren't left alone with him," said Tsuna.

"Something bad?"

"Remember that fire earlier? The one that protected me when I was about to be hurt? Father convinced the old man he brought to try and take it away from me, because he doesn't want to stay here with us," said Tsuna, eyes hard.

"But Mama would be happy if he were home more!" said Haruto, crying.

Mama was always sad because papa was never there and she had to sleep alone at night. Tsuna always stayed with him, to keep the bed monsters far away from him, but Mama didn't have anyone to protect her from the monsters.

"Which is why we're going to run. If they catch us, then they'll try to take away the fire so we can't protect Mama, much less each other."

Haruto wiped his face, and put his hand into Tsuna's slightly bigger one. He knew his big brother would keep him safe, that's what they were for.

Hearing someone cursing in Italian nearby, the two started running again.

However Haruto wasn't as athletic as Tsuna. He could only run for so long and his brother couldn't carry him _and_ escape at the same time. But Tsuna would never dare even entertain the idea of leaving his brother behind.

Then they found a small hole, too tiny for adults to crawl through, and managed to get through even though it scratched them up.

They thought they were safe, hidden behind the thorny bushes. Except someone found them.

"Little animals, what are you doing in my yard?" growled a voice.

Tsuna immediately shielded Haruto from the rather angry voice of Hibari Kyouya, the strongest, most territorial boy in their neighborhood. Hibari hated being part of a group and most of the teachers had long since given up making him play "nice" with others.

"Now, now Kyouya. Even I can see the 'little animals' are scared of something," chided a voice. Tsuna looked up and saw an even more dangerous predator. One that disguised itself as a toddler with a red pacifier. He could have passed for a younger, longer haired Hibari, except his eyes were much older than he looked.

The 'toddler' looked past the wall and spotted something that had him frown. Then an idea occurred to him.

"Kyouya, how would you like to...play...with an older carnivore that could use a lesson in intruding in your territory?" he asked with a smirk.

Hibari's smirk turned vicious, and his tonfas practically _gleamed_ with the idea of the impending violence.

Within moments there was a pained yelp, followed by even louder swearing in Italian, among other things.

Never before had Tsuna been thrilled that Hibari had a habit of biting anyone who annoyed him to death, including adults.

The toddler chuckled darkly. Coyote Nougat wouldn't hurt his grandson _too_ badly, and he'd think twice about entering the house of a baby Cloud who would only get more vicious if he thought the man would intrude on _his_ territory. Served the Vongola Storm right for chasing two little boys to the point of exhaustion.

"Come along, little ones. You look like you could use a good glass of tea and some snacks," said the toddler cheerfully, as if he hadn't just sent a child to attack an adult mafioso.

Tsuna liked him more than the people his father... no, Iemitsu, brought already.

Poor Haruto was almost dead on his feet.

The toddler watched with approval as Tsuna let his brother crash on him, and waited for him to at least have some tea and some onigiri.

"So why was that man chasing you?"

"Probably because I kicked the old man so hard that I'm sure I felt his knee break. Or at least get one nasty bruise," said Tsuna immediately.

"Old man?"

"The man my Mama claims is my father brought him and an old man to our house. He seemed pretty upset about me floating earlier, and I managed to get most of his conversation. All I know is that when someone tries to poke you with a hand on fire, it's generally a good idea to be somewhere else. So I created a distraction and took Haruto out of there with me," said Tsuna, patting his little brother on the head.

"Floating?"

"I went to get a ball, and the branch broke. Next thing I knew, there was a weird warmth in my chest and I floated a bit before I landed on the ground."

The toddler smiled oddly.

"Tell me, did you see the color?"

Tsuna shook his head. He had his eyes closed.

"Who are you, mister? You're eyes are too old for you to be our age," asked Tsuna innocently.

The toddler chuckled.

"And you see more than most adults do. My name is Fon, and I'm Hibari's grandfather. Don't let my appearance fool you... I'm much older than I look."

Tsuna tilted his head and looked at him oddly.

"You feel more like an Arashi than a Fon," he said.

Fon smiled at him. It was rather odd.

The door opened, revealing a scratched up but rather pleased Hibari. He glared at Fon, then at Tsuna.

"Little animal, why was that man looking for you and the kitten?" demanded Hibari.

"Because I bit an older carnivore when he tried to do something, and they were mad about it," said Tsuna, saying the first thing that came to mind. "I wasn't about to let the older carnivore and the fake carnivore hurt my brother."

Hibari stared at him for a moment, before he twirled his tonfa and slid them into their holsters, apparently satisfied with the answer. A pack should always protect their own, especially little ones like the boy sleeping against the potential omnivore in front of him. He went to a Sakura tree and promptly laid down to take a well deserved nap.

That annoying carnivore wouldn't be back anytime soon.

Fon chuckled darkly, then noticed Tsuna yawning.

"Rest, little one. I promise on my word no harm will come to you here... and if they try to get into the house they'll have to deal with me first," said Fon.

Tsuna stared at him, and was apparently satisfied with something he saw in the "toddler". His eyes drooped and soon there was a snore coming from him while his younger brother curled up even closer against him.

The door slid open, revealing Fon's daughter Tsubaki.

"Well father?"

"It seems that Iemitsu attempted to _seal_ a recently awakened Sky, and the Ninth paid for it."

Tsubaki's eyes went dark and hard.

"Really now. The Vongola of all people should know how precious Skies are," she said darkly.

Fon's serene smile slipped for a moment, revealing a much angrier countenance. It swiftly returned to the calm smile that was his facade... but the ire of the Storm Arcobaleno had been firmly awakened.

It was simply good luck, or perhaps the will of the gods themselves that the child had managed to give the Vongola the slip...and that he took his younger brother with him. That they somehow found their way to this particular home, on a day he happened to be visiting.

There was no other way to look at it other than the hand of fate. And there was something about the older boys eyes. They were much like his own, but not as old or hardened. They _Saw_ things that most people generally ignored.

Well, if the Vongola though that Fon would ignore a young Flame that was only just now starting to burn, and a baby _Sky_ no less... well clearly Iemitsu needed to be reminded of the duty all Flame Actives had to protect the younger ones. Especially if they were a Sky.

Fon looked at Tsubaki with a hard gleam in his eyes.

"Alert the clan. If any of the Vongola try to come here for the children, we will make them regret it. With any luck we can keep them far from the boys until they leave and possibly secure Kyouya's future in the process."

He wasn't above setting the older boy up with Kyouya. If anything the child had displayed a rather amusing amount of perception when it came to Kyouya. The way he worded his reply on why the Vongola Storm had been chasing him was absolutely perfect.

If Kyouya had a Sky his own age able to match him, then the chances of him surviving past his teenage years went up. Clouds were rare for a reason... their instincts drove them to defend their territory with almost religious fervor, and it often brought them against much bigger fish that they weren't ready for quite yet.

With quiet efficiency, the Hibari home was set into defense mode. If Iemitsu or the Vongola managed to track the children here and attempted to retrieve them, they would find it quite well defended.

* * *

Tsuna woke up in an unfamiliar room, but Haruto was with him so that was okay.

The house was much bigger than his own home, and Haruto was a bit startled when he realized they weren't in their own room. He stuck close to Tsuna.

"Good morning little ones," said Fon cheerfully.

It seemed Coyote had been thrown off the scent by Kyouya. That was a good thing, and oddly enough none of the Vongola realized Fon was there, observing.

Which didn't really speak well for Iemitsu's capability as the head of CEDEF, and how the Ninth Vongola Don was clearly slipping. He hadn't even tried to hide his QI.

"Brother, who is this?"

"Hibari-san's grandfather, Fon," said Tsuna. He patted Haruto on the head.

Haruto looked at Fon oddly.

"He looks smaller than me."

"Well not all of us can grow up to be giants," said Tsuna. Haruto calmly sat down next to Tsuna, and followed his lead without hesitation.

"You two are quite adorable together. So which one is the older?" asked Fon. Though he could already guess.

Tsuna thumped his chest proudly.

"I'm older by eleven months, and its my job to protect my little brother. That's what good big brothers are for!" he said proudly.

Fon chuckled.

"And it's my job to support him...even if he does tend to jump into things a lot," said Haruto shyly.

"Both of you are good brothers. Family _should_ protect each other from threats," said Fon pleased. Tsuna beamed at him and he could feel the warmth from the boy's Flames.

This was a child he could easily like.

"Well then, while we wait for the fools outside the home to leave and return to Italy, how about I teach you two some basic martial arts? I might not look it, but I am quite good at them," said Fon pleasantly.

Tsuna immediately turned to look at Hibari.

"Did you teach him how to bite older people to death too?" he asked.

Fon chuckled darkly.

"I may have gotten him started and given him his favorite weapons," he admitted.

Better to direct the boy's natural instincts in a way that would keep him alive than to let them bottle up until they exploded in a violent manner. Besides, there was nothing more entertaining than watching grown yakuza have their ass handed to them by a Latent Cloud with a habit of biting people to death.

"I'll learn, if only to keep my little brother safe. I won't let that man or the old guy get their hands on him," said Tsuna.

Fon could feel the unbreakable resolve in his voice. No wonder this child had awakened so early, if his natural conviction was that strong.

And Iemitsu wanted to seal his son's Flame so he wouldn't have to deal with training him. Fon's opinion of the man only sank low and lower the more he found out about the situation.


	2. Chapter 2

Tsuna didn't know why the coward was making them come all the way to Italy, but his instincts screamed at him that it wasn't anything good.

It was those same instincts that had him fake drinking the juice boxes provided in the limo. Haruto didn't think twice, but Tsuna knew something was off about them.

Something that proved all too true when, after a very long drive to a mansion that looked far too suspicious, Haruto started to have trouble staying awake.

Alarmed, Tsuna knew that someone had drugged the juice.

Too bad he was smarter than the coward who brought them. It didn't take much to beg off a trip to the bathroom, or to convince Haruto to go through the window to the maze outside. Even if he had to carry his little brother once they were safely inside the hedges.

Closing that window had been tricky, but worth it.

Haruto was on his back like a sack of potatoes, snoring away. As long as he could hide until the drugs wore off, they would be fine.

And then he could teach that damn coward the price of drugging his little brother.

"Voi! What the hell are you two doing here? This is the Vongola's territory!"

Tsuna looked up to see a teen with silver hair and a sword on his left arm. Nearby was another teen with black hair, and angry red eyes, with feathers and a tail in his hair.

He had a boredly arrogant expression on his face.

"What are two brats doing in my family's garden?" he demanded.

Tsuna glared at him, and was met with irritated red eyes the color of blood.

" _Not like I had a choice. It was either go out through the window or let whatever that damn coward had planned actually work,"_ said Tsuna in Japanese. He wasn't revealing he knew Italian. Not when it could mean a chance to escape.

The teen didn't even blink. His glare shifted into annoyance.

" _Who's the 'coward'?"_ he demanded in Japanese.

" _Our so-called Father and his accomplice. I hope that old geezer walks with a limp with how hard I hit his knee,"_ spat Tsuna.

Suddenly the teens went from disinterested to very amused.

The red eyed one look at him hard before he started laughing with a cold smirk.

" _So_ you're _the reason my father has that limp. And here I thought Iemitsu had been stupid enough to piss off some weak yakuza and the old man got careless!"_

The teen had noticed his father limping slightly every since that visit to Japan. He wouldn't elaborate on what happened, just that the visit hadn't gone as planned and that little "Tsunayoshi" was a real spitfire.

Coyote had had some rather impressive bruises as well... from what he found out the storm Guardian had tangled with a baby Cloud and barely won.

Needless to say he found the whole thing endlessly entertaining.

Haruto mumbled from Tsuna's shoulder and he had to readjust his grip on his brother. Tsuna could tell the two wouldn't exactly let them leave quite yet, and Haruto was still out cold from the drugs.

" _Voi! What's wrong with the brat?"_

" _Drugs in the juice box. They felt wrong so I faked having some, but he drank the entire thing,"_ said Tsuna in disgust. _"Damn coward."_

" _What's your name, brat?"_ said the red eyed teen. There was something bordering respect in his eyes.

" _Tsunayoshi Sawada... this is my brother Haruto."_

" _Sawada, as in Iemitsu Sawada?"_ growled the teen. He hated Iemitsu.

Tsuna glared at him.

" _We don't dignify that coward with the use of a real name. Not after what he tried to pull, and because he's too chicken to actually be there,"_ said Tsuna with enough venom that it was clear he hated the man almost as much.

It was around that time that someone discovered they were missing. Hearing the uproar inside the house, Tsuna glared at it. He had to get away, otherwise they might try to drug him again.

There were voices outside the maze, and he went to bolt deeper in.

" _Going somewhere, brat?"_

" _We have to hide. At least until the drugs wear off,"_ said Tsuna, already heading towards an exit that lead deeper into the maze.

" _What makes you think you have to hide?"_ asked the silver haired teen.

" _Anywhere that coward has power is enemy territory. Haru can act as my back up when he is awake, but until then we're sitting ducks,"_ said Tsuna as if it were obvious.

The voices were getting closer.

Tsuna only caught the hint of the teen's smirk, before something knocked him out.

* * *

 _Third POV..._

"Voi! What the hell shitty boss?" demanded Squalo, from where he had just watched Xanxus knock out a seven-year-old brat.

"Iemitsu's up to something, and this kid is clearly smart enough to avoid the fucker. I want to know what that bastard has planned that he brought his sons to the mansion, especially since the brat admitted he's the one behind the limp," said Xanxus flatly.

The fact it would piss Iemitsu off to no end that his sons ended up in the company of the Varia after he went to such lengths to pretend he was keeping his family safe as civilians was a bonus. Besides, there was something about the older brat's eyes that had his attention.

Something that said the brat wasn't going to grow up to be trash like his father, and might actually be potential Quality.

With a little adjustment, the two were hidden behind his jacket, and Squalo sent off the searchers who claimed a pair of children had "gotten lost" and that they were trying to return them to their parents.

Yeah, right. There weren't any kids in the mansion save for these two.

Squalo hid the brothers inside the Varia car that they had taken to the mansion, avoiding everyone else and making damn sure he wasn't seen with the suspicious bundle. He was Varia Quality. If he couldn't slip two unconscious kids out of the place, then clearly he needed retraining!

Xanxus came back from his brief meeting with Nono, and like always after he had to deal with the old man he was in a foul mood. However it improved slightly when he saw the two brats in the car.

Pissing off Iemitsu was always something that made his day.

* * *

Tsuna woke up first, and found himself in an infirmary. There was an odd teen with a rather flamboyant look that reminded him of someone, but he think of who. He found Haru curled up next to him, dozing lightly. From the looks of it, the drugs had almost worn off.

" _Are you awake, darling?"_ asked the flamboyant teen. He was wearing sunglasses indoors.

" _Where are we?"_ demanded Tsuna.

He didn't know it, but the way he reacted to waking up was so reminiscent of a blond, almost golden eyed version of Xanxus that Lussuria had to coo at him. It was positively adorable, especially the way the boy immediately went to cover his little brother by instinct.

No wonder the boy had the boss' interest!

" _Bro...ther?"_ mumbled the younger boy.

Lussuria had to fight the urge to hug them both and coo at them. The little one who was clearly a Sunny Rain had been fighting off the sleeping pills he had been dosed with, and now that he was awake he was positively adorable.

Seeing "Tsuna" hug his little brother in relief, they barely noticed the door open.

"Voi! Are the brats awake yet?" demanded Squalo. Seeing they were, and the suspicious looks of the older brother, he smirked. _"The boss wants to see you two."_

Haru kept close to Tsuna, who looked perfectly ready to bite someone to death (thank you Hibari for getting that blasted phrase stuck in his head).

Seeing the teen from earlier, Tsuna glared at him. The teen smirked at him.

" _Seems Iemitsu wants you two sealed."_

Tsuna's glare went up by eleven and he snarled. Squalo had to do a double take, because he looked a lot like Xanxus in that moment when he was well and truly pissed off. Haruto immediately took position with his back against his brother, to keep an eye out for trouble coming up from behind.

They were a naturally good team, and in a possibly hostile territory it could mean the difference between life and death.

Tsuna was properly pissed off, but managed to keep his temper reigned in until he had a proper target.

" _So that coward thinks he can try and seal us again, when we managed to give him the slip last time?"_ he growled.

" _What do you mean, 'last time'?"_ demanded Xanxus.

Tsuna looked him flat in the eye.

" _I fell from a branch while getting a ball, and started floating. They saw the entire thing and then the coward convinced the old man he brought about a 'seal'. They tried to get me to stay still while the old geezer went to poke me in the head with a hand full of orange fire, but I wasn't about to let them near me with that. So I punched the old man hard enough to break something, broke through the front window and grabbed my brother to make a run for it. That's how we found Teacher... he helped hide us until they came back to Italy."_

If Xanxus was pissed at Iemitsu before, he was rather murderous now. The asshole wanted to seal his son when he had Active flames? Didn't that moron know what sealing an Active flame did to people, never mind to small children? The kid would have been screwed up for life!

" _What color?"_ asked Squalo, in the same amount of furious shock as the boss.

He knew Iemitsu was an idiot, but this was taking things to an entirely new level.

Tsuna raised his right hand and it caught fire. Orange with streaks of purple and vague hints of indigo were clearly visible in his hand.

Iemitsu wanted to seal an Active Sky. Was he retarded or something?

Xanxus managed to keep his fury from taking over, but it was a near thing. No way in hell was he allowing that idiot seal a baby Sky, especially one this strong. It would screw the kid up for life and leave him vulnerable.

" _What about the other brat?"_ asked Xanxus.

Haru looked him in the eyes unafraid.

" _I still can't do it yet, but Teacher said I was close."_

Xanxus looked at them both. He could sense the unwavering loyalty they had for each other. And there was the promise of Quality in the brat's eyes, especially the Sky one.

No way was he letting such potential die off like Iemitsu clearly wanted to.

" _How would you two like some Varia training?"_

" _Boss?"_ said Squalo. They were just kids. Admittedly amusing ones, but still brats.

Tsuna glared at him defiant.

" _No way! We're going to COMSUBIN or bust!"_

Xanxus started laughing. The brat at least had a decent goal to work towards and the younger brat was clearly going to go wherever his brother decided.

" _You think the military would accept anyone brat? You're going to need a lot of polishing before you're even remotely ready to join!"_

" _We know, but that's not going to stop us,"_ said the two in unison.

You could see the conviction in their eyes. They had a good resolve.

Xanxus liked them more than their sperm donor already.

* * *

Tsuna rolled his eyes when Squalo (the silver haired guy) lead them into a room filled with obvious rookies with his brother and the door was locked.

"Unlucky, brats. We beat you and we get a weekend off training and our pick of names," said one thuggish looking idiot. He was already cracking his knuckles in anticipation.

Seeing the other idiots with equally anticipatory smirks, Tsuna took a stance. Haru wasn't far behind him, and the two settled into a calm state.

"Oi, shitty shark! What do we get if we kick _their_ asses instead?" shouted Tsuna.

The hidden intercom blared.

" _Voi! Just fight the recruits already dammit! Not like you're going to win anyway!"_ shouted Squalo.

Tsuna glared.

"Challenge accepted asshole," said Tsuna. "Ready Haru?"

Haru nodded evilly.

"Ready, brother."

What followed was a massacre...for the recruits.

They didn't spend two years having their asses kicked by Hibari or being beaten into the ground by Teacher for nothing! Like a bunch of wet-behind-the-ears recruits would be able to handle them!

Squalo stared, as did the majority of the other officers. Xanxus just looked amused.

"Voi. What the hell?"

"How adorable! Seems the strays you picked up are a pair of scrappers like yourself boss!" said Lussuria gushing.

"Mu. I recognize that style," said Mammon from Squalo's shoulder.

If that wasn't Fon's handiwork, she'd give up her money.

Xanxus was definitely happy now. The kids were worth keeping around, if only for the entertainment value. He could recognize the look in the older brat's eyes... there was a similar fire to the one Xanxus had at that age, and it was properly directed.

The two were breathing hard, but at least they weren't beaten half to death like the recruits.


	3. Chapter 3

"Get that crap away from me! Do you have any idea where milk _comes_ from?!" said Tsuna in disgust.

Their school had taken them to a trip to a nearby dairy farm. Needless to say Tsuna was traumatized for life.

"Mu. Suit yourself brat," said Mammon. At least it meant she wouldn't have to share her supply of strawberry milk.

"Now, now little one~! If you don't drink milk you'll never grow as big as your big brother!" said Lussuria.

"Who said anything about a big brother? I'm the oldest and it's my job to keep my brother safe!" said Tsuna glaring.

"Brat, keep it down. Some of us would like to eat without a shouting match," growled Xanxus.

"Make me, old geezer!" said Tsuna. He managed to break the glass thrown at him by Xanxus.

"VOI! Who said you could steal one of my swords!"

"You have hundreds of the damn things hanging around! Not like you're going to miss one!" shouted Tsuna back.

"Stay out of my room! Voi!"

Lussuria giggled.

"Certainly lively today, isn't it Mammon?"

"Mu. Rather entertaining really. The boy is almost like a younger, blond version of the Boss," admitted Mammon.

And that comparison only got worse when Tsuna was given a small paint ball gun and told to shoot at the recruits with it.

His evil grin was definitely like a nicer version of Xanxus, and his aim was rather good for someone who had clearly never held a gun before.

* * *

Tsuna came in from 'playing' with the greenhorn assassins (he wasn't an idiot and he didn't flinch being around hired killers, because Squalo had explained to him that Xanxus was his cousin and therefor family) and found his little brother sleeping.

On Xanxus' lap, with the Varia boss looking a cross between amused and very surprised.

Something in him settled. If Haruto felt comfortable enough to get close to the teen, then he couldn't be that bad. He just looked rough.

"Brat. Why is your brother sleeping on my leg?" demanded Xanxus.

Tsuna gave him an amused look, and Xanxus saw an immediate difference from earlier. The kid wasn't ready to attack him at a moment's notice anymore. In fact he was much more relaxed.

"I know when there's trouble close by... but Haruto's not like me. He still believes there's good in people, and he can tell when someone is trustworthy or not. The fact he feels that comfortable around you means you're not as bad as you might think."

Xanxus glared at him.

"I run an organization of hired killers, brat."

"And yet you saved us from that coward and let us stay. I think under your bad ass exterior you're a good person," said Tsuna flatly.

Xanxus glared at him. He looked ready to dump the brat and go off in a huff. Tsuna grinned at him, and he would swear there were sunshine and sparkles around him.

"I said under it. Anyone who looks at you can tell that you don't take shit from anyone and will beat up anyone stupid to cross you. But that doesn't mean you can't be a good person underneath too," said Tsuna.

That seemed to appease the Varia boss.

These kids saw too much, and the older brat understood the world far more than seven year old should.

"Get some food in you brat. We still haven't given the greenhorns enough grief. Losing to a pair of kids..." muttered Xanxus.

It was a disgrace for anyone trying to be Varia Quality to lose to a pair of half-trained brats! Vongola blood or not, they took them down too easily and were only breathing hard at the end!

Tsuna beamed at him, before he went to the kitchens. He knew Haruto was safe with Xanxus.

The Varia Boss looked down at the brat snoozing on his leg without a care in the world.

The bizarre, unconditional trust the brat was showing by being so damn vulnerable made an odd feeling known in his chest. It had been a very long time that anyone trusted him this much without demanding anything in return. He could barely tolerate the idea of showing weakness to his own Elements.

And yet this kid trusted him to the point he was asleep within easy reach of Xanxus' hands, which could snap his neck with ease.

* * *

Nana was beyond angry, and downright furious.

"Where. Are. My. Sons?" she demanded.

Iemitsu winced. He had hoped his wife would remain the wonderfully oblivious, kind woman she was and not notice that her sons hadn't been seen since Iemitsu took them from the airport.

Sadly, that was not the case.

"We don't know. They went into one of the bathrooms and apparently made a get away out into the gardens behind the house, and now we can't find them."

Though he had his suspicions, or at least Lal Mirch did. She was already making her way discreetly to the Varia headquarters to interrogate Xanxus and Squalo, who had been at the mansion that day.

The bathroom Tsuna made his escape with Haruto in lead straight to the maze, and that was where Xanxus had been avoiding Nono for the better part of the afternoon, around the time they arrived at the mansion. It had taken ten minutes before someone thought to check and see if the brat had fallen in, since Haruto had finished the juice they had drugged with a carefully measured dosage.

Tsuna had either noticed it or his Hyper Intuition had warned him... something Iemitsu had failed to take into account, and was now kicking himself for.

Nana looked ready to brain him with something.

"I have my best people looking for them!"

With orders to bring them straight to him, so he could have Nono seal them. Civilians didn't need Flames, and it would keep them safe!

Especially his little Tuna-fish, who had Sky Flames.

Nana damn near growled at him. Iemitsu winced.

* * *

 _Lal Mirch POV..._

On the plus side, she found the missing brats. Apparently the older son was a hell of a lot smarter and quicker on the uptake than her idiot boss.

Xanxus had taken them to piss off Iemitsu, and because he clearly saw something in Tsunayoshi.

What she _wasn't_ expecting was the sheer level of Fan Boy aura coming off the two boys the second Viper (now going by Mammon) told them that she was a former instructor for COMSUBIN.

How the hell did she end up being roped as their babysitter/trainer for the rest of the week?

Not that she was complaining _that_ much mind you. Tsuna was clearly made for a military lifestyle, and Haruto would follow his older brother into hell itself if asked.

Their teamwork was flawless, their combat skills damn impressive for their age, and the way they took her orders without complaint amused her.

She got less complaining from a seven year old and his younger brother than she had from the greenhorns she used to train! Hell, Colonello would probably love these kids!

Lal was openly grinning. Sending these two brats through the Varia obstacle course was hilarious, if only because they beat the current record with their uncanny teamwork and left grown men in the dust. Even if Tsuna occasionally cheated on the higher obstacles by using his Sky Flames. The fact he immediately helped his brother up the same ones only made Lal grin wider.

She liked these brats. She liked them a lot.

Spotting Xanxus, she walked over to the Varia boss with some amusement.

"Any idea why Iemitsu brought these two to Italy?"

"The worthless trash wants Nono to seal his sons. He failed last time, when Tsuna first awakened so he's cutting off the brat's escape. Too bad the kid was smart enough not to drink the juice," said Xanxus bluntly.

Lal went from amused to pissed.

Seal an _Active_ _Sky?_ Had Iemitsu lost his damn mind?! If the boy was Latent, then there was little damage. But sealing an Active was different. It was usually reserved as a punishment, for god's sake!

The one and _only_ recorded attempt to do it to a Sky resulted in the boy being given a mercy killing!

Seeing the proud faces of the two boys for completing the course, she patted them both on the head.

"Good work. I've seen grown men do far worse, and this course would have made even my last student pause."

"They're not trash," admitted Xanxus. Which was about as high a praise as he was going to give them in public.

"So why did you two suddenly go into fan boy mode when you heard I was a former soldier?" asked Lal. Because that had been bugging her for hours.

"We want to go into COMSUBIN when we're older," admitted Tsuna. "No way are we going anywhere near something that coward leads."

If Lal had been drinking anything at the time she would have choked on it.

"How on earth did you even hear about that group anyway?"

"Teacher mentioned it offhand. Said two of his colleagues used to be part of it and that we really reminded him of one of them. He mentioned that he'd see if he couldn't convince one of them to visit Namimori whenever the island was in range and the guy had some free time, whatever that meant," said Tsuna.

That sounded like their teacher knew Colonello.

"What about the other one?"

"Too close to the coward, and he wasn't sure that she would ignore orders. That loser still wants us sealed, after all."

"Does this teacher of yours have a name?" asked Lal rather crossly. She wanted to know who was talking about them behind their backs.

"Fon," said Haruto helpfully. "But we just call him Teacher. He doesn't seem to mind."

"He's the one who managed to get us a list of exercises we could do while he was away on business to increase our speed and stamina. Probably from the guy on the island," said Tsuna.

Knowing Colonello, he'd probably adopt the two on the spot once he saw their potential. _Especially_ when he found out what their career goals were.

"So darlings, have you thought of your code names yet?" asked Lussuria.

"Code names?" repeated Lal dangerously. They were not seriously giving kids Varia names!

"Every proper fighter should have a secret code name!" said Luss.

Tsuna beamed at him, and he already had the perfect name in mind.

"I want to be Fullmetal!"

Haruto looked a little shy, but said loudly enough to be heard anyway "I thought the name Blood Knight sounds cool."

"So Fullmetal and Knight," said Lussuria approvingly. "They suit you, especially yours Tsu-kun!"

Tsuna blushed embarrassed, but happy.

Lal looked at them with suspicion. Iemitsu would kill Xanxus if he found out that his sons now had Varia names!

Of course it didn't end there. Squalo dumped both children in the armory and left them alone.

Within seconds Tsuna was drawn to the blades, though he seemed to be looking for something in particular. Haruto, on the other hand was looking more at the weapons designed for hand-to-hand fighters. Specifically the armor.

"Find anything, brats?" asked Xanxus, leaning on the doorframe.

"I think this would work better if it were a retractable blade. Kinda like what Squalo has but shorter," said Tsuna, holding out a short sword that was rather common in French artwork of knights.

Haruto grinned as he found a pair of metal gauntlets that actually fit.

Xanxus smirked.

If Lal were a normal woman, she would have balked at the idea of giving children weapons. But these were brats trained by Fon, and they hadn't gone near the guns, which she would have protested at.

She could already see where this was heading... Xanxus would take the sword Tsuna had liked and turn it into an retractable blade he could keep on his dominant arm and let Haruto keep the gauntlets. He could grow into them, after all.

Any punch from that little boy would hurt like hell with those on.

"Do you even know how to fight with a blade?" asked Lal.

Tsuna scratched his head with his free hand.

"This one feels really familiar, but I don't remember learning how to use a sword."

And he had the weirdest feeling it should be on his right arm and retract after clapping his hands. It was really weird.

Just like Haruto felt a strange kinship with the gauntlets...except he had the weirdest feeling he should be wearing the full set of armor. It was why he had picked the name "Blood Knight", or just "Knight" for short.

"Go play with Squalo brat," said Xanxus. Tsuna almost put the sword back, except he caught the look Xanxus was giving him.

Instead he found some medical tape like the ones Luss used for his hands and tied the sword to his right arm. It almost felt right, but there was something missing.

Squalo wasn't the only one doing a double take when he saw the sword on his arm, but he wasn't one to turn down a challenge. Besides, he never found anyone crazy enough to have a sword on their arm like he did and still be able to fight.

That, and it was payback time for all the bad shark jokes from the brat.

"VOI!"

Luss casually picked up Haruto with a grin. It wasn't hard to tell the boy was a Sunny Rain, and since he naturally favored hand to hand combat that meant he could teach the boy Muy Thai. Haruto certainly took to the lessons with glee, as did Tsuna. But the older brother was busy playing with the shark, which meant it was just him and this cutie for the next few hours.

Hard to believe that the Varia was taking care of a couple of kids. And that the brats didn't seem to mind their brand of crazy.


	4. Chapter 4

Considering the two had been there for almost three straight weeks, it was amazing it took so long for the Vongola to figure out where the two were.

Xanxus was not impressed, especially since even Lal Mirch had guessed where the two had disappeared to from simple common sense.

She had opted to take her sweet time returning, if only because she refused to be part of Iemitsu sealing two little boys. Especially if one was a strong Sky like Tsuna was.

It had nothing to do with the way the two eagerly called her Auntie and actually followed her orders like proper soldiers, making her reminisce about her time in COMSUBIN, nope, nothing at all.

(Mammon had already made a very decent sum of money sending pictures of Lal's expression when the boys called her Auntie to Colonello, who eagerly paid for them when he realized what he was looking at. She made even more when she sold pictures of Lal interacting like a favored aunt to the brats when they did what she told them without complaint.)

Xanxus was not happy having his "brother" in Varia headquarters, especially with a good portion of his Guardians.

The fact he automatically assumed that Xanxus was keeping the children against their wills really pissed him off though.

"Leave Xanxus-nii alone, you old geezer! Or do you want me to take out your other knee too!" shouted Tsuna. He was proudly wearing his new toy, which was a retractable blade on his right arm. Even if he did have an odd habit of clapping his hands before hitting the release mechanism on the blade, the boy was surprisingly adept at fighting with a blade on his arm. Enough so that Squalo actually had a fight on his hands when the brat used it.

"Xanxus-nii didn't do anything wrong! He kept that coward from hurting us!" said Haruto defiantly, hugging Xanxus' leg without hesitation.

"Dear god, they have Stockholm Syndrome," muttered Enrico.

Tsuna glared at him, and his hands flared with Sky flames.

"What was that, you creep?" he snarled, ready to rip Enrico a new one. If the shock of that wasn't enough, then seeing Haruto finally awaken his own Flames in response to Tsuna's ire at the accusation would have given them a reason to back off.

The yellow and blue flames burned brightly on Haruto, as he glared at the old man.

"At least Xanxus-nii didn't drug us, like that coward did," growled Haruto. He was pissed off.

"What do you mean, drug you?" demanded Enrico sharply.

"That coward drugged the juice boxes in the car when he had us picked up. Haruto passed out halfway through that big house and I wasn't about to leave him behind in enemy territory. We were lucky Xanxus-nii decided to get us out of there until the drugs wore off," said Tsuna flatly.

Enrico looked at his youngest brother and asked "Is this true, Xanxus?"

"The brats stumbled into the maze when we were there, and the Sky brat was carrying the other one like a sack of potatoes. Lussuria confirmed he had been dosed with a strong concentration of sleeping pills."

Enrico looked pissed. No one had informed him that one of the boys had been drugged. No wonder the kids attached themselves to Xanxus... he wasn't exactly inclined to agree with anything Father or Iemitsu demanded!

"Why haven't you brought them back to the mansion? Their mother is worried sick!"

So much so that Iemitsu finally caved and asked the older Vongola for help.

"Like we'd go back to be sealed! We're not stupid!" said Tsuna.

"What."

"Iemitsu wants his son's sealed, especially Tsuna," said Xanxus. "Considering what an idiot he is, I could believe him having them sealed just because the trash didn't want to bother training them."

Tsuna openly rolled his eyes.

"Teacher said that he thought his opinion of the coward couldn't go any lower, finding out that the idiot would openly consider sealing a five year old instead of training them," said Tsuna.

"Teacher?"

"Storm Arcobaleno. We're not keeping the brats here, they just refuse to go anywhere near Iemitsu or Nono, for damn good reason," said Xanxus flatly. That, and the brats had grown on them by this point.

Enrico sighed. This was a mess and a half.

"You can't keep them here, Xanxus. Their mother is worried sick about them."

"Then send them home to Japan. Not my problem if Iemitsu can't be bothered to see his family," deadpanned Xanxus.

No way was Iemitsu risking bringing his sons and wife to Italy twice. Especially once Xanxus made it known he _would_ be keeping an eye for anyone fitting the boy's description being brought to Italy now that he knew exactly what Iemitsu planned to do with them.

Hell, Massimo and Frederico might very well help once he told them. No way would they go along with sealing a baby Sky, especially since Fon had decided to train Tsuna in how to control his Flames. The kid made it clear he was planning to enter the military, which meant they could simply bring him into the mafia when he was older.

Preferably the Varia, if Xanxus has any say in the matter. The kid was almost Quality, and just needed a bit of training before he made the cut.

Well, it was better than explaining to their father that Xanxus had felt protective enough of the little Sky to abduct him and his brother from Iemitsu's idiot plan... besides, Enrico would have to contact the Storm to see how much he wanted to keep training the boys. Better to have a known neutral party train them then deal with Iemitsu's whining.

* * *

Nana was beyond happy to have her boys with her again. Apparently they had quite the adventure while they were in Italy, and she thanked Xanxus profusely for keeping them safe.

The older teen had lightly blushed, embarrassed at the honest praise, before patting the boys on the head. Seeing little Haruto, who was always so shy around unknown people, hug the older boy around the leg Nana chuckled.

Even if she didn't notice the new "toys" that her sons had acquired from their new favorite big brother. They would quite happily keep her oblivious to what they could really do.

Most mothers didn't like it finding out their sons were fighting.

Kyouya, when he found out about Tsuna's new weapon, smirked and went on the offensive. The smaller carnivore finally had a proper set of fangs, and that made things more interesting. And the younger carnivore had picked up a pair of proper claws, and was now even more dangerous.

Fon was bemused, but rather pleased with this development. Even if it meant having to add blade training on top of the martial arts and flame lessons he gave them.

Viper (Mammon) had been kind enough to forward the video of the two beating up an entire room of rookie Varia members with the skills he taught them.

And Lal Mirch had become absolutely smitten with the two within a matter of days. Colonello would almost certainly make his way to the town once he heard about them from the woman.

* * *

 _Tsuna, age 10, Haruto, age 9_

Tsuna was observing his classmates, a practice his Teacher and big brother (he had reluctantly conceded the title of "big brother" to Xanxus, mostly because they shared the same views on family) had encouraged him to keep up.

Which was why, the day Takeshi Yamamoto broke his dominant arm in an accident involving a batting machine, his Hyper Intuition (Xanxus had finally given him a name for the nudges he got from his instincts) practically screamed at him to keep an eye on the boy.

He wasn't the only one, Haruto was looking at the boy with a frown.

As the days progressed, Yamamoto fell deeper into depression. He hid it well enough to fool most, but anyone who actually looked could see he was miserable.

Tsuna and Haruto took to stalking the boy after school, instead of "playing" (read: sparring) with Kyouya.

Yamamoto looked over the bridge down to the river with an odd expression on his face. It was almost like he had lost the reason for living, and had no real desire to move on.

The taller boy would forever be in shock when a pair of bodies promptly tackled him to the ground without giving a damn about his broken arm the second he was seriously beginning to contemplate going over the railings to jump.

"Idiot! Are you really that careless with your own life that you'd be willing to jump off just from something as Stupid as a broken arm?!" shouted Tsuna, slapping him on the head, hard.

Takeshi winced, partly because Haruto was on his right arm, but also because that slap _hurt_.

"What do you care?" he said right back, his voice hollow.

"So what if you can't play for a while? You've still got two strong legs! You should keep walking forward until a new path opens up for you!" said Tsuna sternly.

Takeshi blinked. That was the first time he heard something like that. Most of the people around him were upset because he wasn't allowed to play baseball for a while and were losing interest in him altogether.

But Tsuna didn't care that he lost his arm. He was telling him to keep going until something better came along. Hell, he cared enough to follow him to the bridge and stop him.

"What if I can't? What if this is all I'll ever be?" said Takeshi miserably.

Tsuna glared at him, and it felt like he was staring into the depths of Takeshi's soul.

"We're _ten._ Kids heal faster than adults, and I seriously doubt that our futures are really set in stone at this age anyway," deadpanned Tsuna. "Instead of complaining that you're never going to play baseball again, find something new to focus on until your arm heals up and we'll play baseball with you, even if everyone else won't. I might not look it, but I got a pretty decent pitching arm."

"He does, but Kyouya hates playing with us," said Haruto. He was off Takeshi arm, but there was a weird warmth where his hand was. "And most of the other kids are too scared of him because he can fight with Kyouya and not get bitten to death for it."

"So are you going to keep being stupid, or should we drag your butt to your dad and have him yell at you?" said Tsuna.

"Ahaha... I'm fine now, really," said Takeshi with one of his smiles. He was immediately given another painful headslap for it.

"If you're miserable, then you should let people know. You don't need to fake a smile if you're in pain or sad," scolded Tsuna.

Takeshi looked, and really looked at the hotheaded boy. Tsuna had a temper, but he was a very protective big brother. The first time someone tried to bully him, he had glared and they backed off in fear. But the second they tried it with his little brother, who was in the same class... well, he responded much like Hibari would in the presence of people crowding him.

He bit them to death, and they learned very quickly you do not mess with Haruto. Tsuna would track you down and would not hesitate to end you, even if adults were present.

He took his duties of protecting his younger brother seriously.

And right now, Tsuna was looking at him with those wide eyes that were almost golden in color...and he saw Takeshi. Not the baseball prodigy, or the popular boy in class, but the miserable boy who had no idea what he was going to do with his life without being able to play baseball.

It made a weird feeling in his chest spark. Having someone who really saw him, and not the mask he wore. Especially when they made a point to walk him home.

Considering how hard they had tackled him, his father dragged him back to the clinic to have his arm checked. His dad had a weird look in his eye when he mentioned the weird warmth where Haruto had touched him, or the feeling he got in his chest around Tsuna.

What really made him curious was the fact that according to the x-ray his arm was already halfway to being healed, when it should have been a clean break throughout. The doctor couldn't explain it, even when comparing the previous scan of his arm.

Tsuyoshi however knew exactly what was going on. People didn't heal from broken arms like that unless Flames were involved. Especially Sun Flames.

From what little his son could tell him, it sounded like Tsuna Sawada was a Sky who had taken an interest in his little Takeshi, which he knew damn well was a Rain Latent.

Well, he wouldn't deny his son a chance to become a Guardian. Especially since it meant Takeshi would never fall into the same trap he had when he was still a teen. But he would rather confirm that this child was worthy of his boy, even if he had saved Takeshi's life from his own stupidity.

So when Takeshi brought the brothers to the shop, Tsuyoshi discreetly interrogated the two.

While young Tsuna was a bit of a hot tempered brat (one with a nasty right hook, from what he had found out) and was best friends with the most vicious Cloud in Namimori, he was very loyal to those who earned it. He treated family very seriously, to the point he'd jump into danger to keep them safe.

He was also a genius, though he didn't really bother to display it much. His grades were roughly in the middle of the class because he found the lessons so boring he often fell asleep, but he always got perfect scores on the tests.

Haruto was a little shy, but rather bright and friendly. He trusted his older brother completely and followed him everywhere, but not to a creepy extent. For one thing, he had his own hobbies like gardening and taking care of the stray cats in their neighborhood.

He was also an Active Sunny Rain. Which meant he was the reason why Takeshi's arm was halfway healed.

Seeing his son hit with Sky Attraction, Tsuyoshi observed their interaction carefully. Tsuna apparently had an idea of what was happening, but he wasn't annoyed by the way Takeshi seemed to lean on him for support.

Takeshi needed someone to anchor him in reality, and Tsuna didn't seem to care one way or another if he was that anchor. Though the fact he offered to help tutor Takeshi in math was amusing, considering his son hated the subject.

But what really proved the boy was worthy of being his son's sky was the conviction in Takeshi's eyes when he asked to learn how to use a sword.

Apparently Tsuna had gotten it through to him that just because he was unable to play baseball for now didn't mean that something better wouldn't come along soon enough. They were still children... they healed faster than adults and he still had two good legs to carry him wherever he wanted to go.

He should use them to find his own path.


	5. Chapter 5

Tsuna found himself introduced to the dangers of being an Active Sky in a civilian setting when, during one of the rare times his brother was a bit late joining him in their walk home, he found himself grabbed and drugged with chloroform before he had a chance to properly react.

He had been wary, but whoever it was had been smart enough to hide in plain sight to the point he couldn't pick out the danger.

He was very, very glad Xanxus-nii had paid Mammon to hide his blade under Mist bindings. He never took it off, but he kept it well oiled and practiced with it regularly.

That meant when he found the bastards who were kidnapping him, they were going to be in for one hell of a nasty surprise. Even if it had taken several hours of practice figuring out how to bring his blade out of the bindings without making an idiot of himself.

Fortunately Mammon didn't seem to mind the challenge of altering it so that the blade only came out when he clapped his hands and slid his left in a downward motion on his right arm.

It meant that the blade would stay _hidden_ until that trigger was met, and would only return if the motion was reversed. After all, it wasn't like people had a regular habit of clapping before sliding their hand down their arm.

Tsuna would only wake inside a facility and he knew he wasn't in Japan anymore. Italian wasn't a language normally spoken that far east, much less in that dialect.

* * *

Haruto had known the second he didn't see Tsuna near the gate or at home that something had happened.

The first thing he did was call Hibari. Even Takeshi was frowning, because he knew very well that Tsuna _never_ walked home without his brother with him. Especially not when his school bag was still on the inside of the gate within easy reach.

"Small carnivore, where is your litter mate?"

Haruto held out Tsuna's bag.

"I think something happened to him."

Hibari narrowed his eyes at the familiar school bag, and within moments was already calling his grandfather and clan. No effort would be spared to find his pack mate.

Within hours they had reports of someone with a fake ID managing to get past the herbivore's attempts at security with a suspicious bundle on a cheap cargo plane. The flight manifest was in somewhere near Europe, but it was close enough to Italy that it raised alarm bells.

Fon was not happy. Fortunately, he had a way of finding out who had taken Tsuna within record time.

"Hello Mammon. I have some news your boss will most certainly not like hearing..." said Fon.

Kyouya, Takeshi and Haruto were patiently waiting for a location. They would retrieve Tsuna even if it meant having to sneak onto a plane to find him.

Fon's serene smile was thin and full of dark promise.

"They have a general location, but it'll take half a day to get there."

Kyouya was already getting his supplies. Takeshi was heading home to get the practice sword his dad gave him, and Haruto was already slipping his gauntlets on.

"Very well. Gather what you need and we'll meet my...contact... within the day. Haruto, be sure to come up with an explanation on where your brother is," said Fon.

"I'll tell her we're staying at Kyouya's house. She won't think anything of it," said Haruto nodding.

Within the hour, the four were on a private plane to Italy to meet up with the Varia. Xanxus didn't like it when his _family_ was taken.

* * *

 _Tsuna POV..._

He was in his own private hell. Whatever they dosed him with caused his flames to react violently, almost as if they were turning against him.

And then the screaming started. It was like a vision of hell on earth. He kept hearing strange whispers telling him to accept this "Sin" and claim his birthright.

Finally he couldn't take it anymore, and got pissed.

"Go to hell! I don't give a damn about your past sins or your mistakes! I'll forge my own path through my own power! I refuse to be tied down by your past!" shouted Tsuna.

There was a flare of light, and he found himself in a really weird place. It was so vast, but at the same time it felt so familiar.

There were people there, one of which made him snarl in rage. He still didn't like the old bastard for trying to seal him.

" _Impressive, for a child. Though you haven't been a child for a very long time have you, Tsunayoshi?"_ said the man on the throne.

"Who are you? Outside of this asshole," said Tsuna, nodding to Vongola Nono.

 _ **E'la nostra ora incisa sull'anello.**_

 **Our hour was engraved on the ring.**

Tsuna looked around wildly. This voice. He knew this voice.

"Where am I?"

" _This place has many names. But you might know it best as the realm of Truth. Under the Sky, there are no such thing as lies. You've been here before, a long time ago, young one. You have paid for passage through the Gate and come out stronger,"_ said the older version on him on the throne. Except he didn't think it was his future self.

Didn't Xanxus say that he bore a rather strong resemblance to the Primo?

Tsuna looked at the others in formation, and had an epiphany.

These were all the previous bosses of the Vongola familigia, right down to the Primo.

Giotto knew he had figured it out.

" _You are still too young to take your rightful place among us. You still need the ring. However, you have long since paid for your gift from the Gate."_

The others disappeared, and Giotto walked to his grandson.

" _Unlike Timoteo, I will not be sealing your gift. Instead I shall return what you have forgotten to you. Use it wisely and do not repeat your error from the last life,"_ said Giotto.

His hand was full of orange fire, but unlike last time he didn't feel afraid of him.

Flames connected with him, and he felt _knowledge_ and power being returned to him. Now he vaguely remembered why he had that habit of clapping his hands.

It was to complete the circle within himself. To cycle the energy within his body and release it without the use of the same rituals that most people had to rely on.

He felt something being put in his pocket.

" _Proof that one day, you will ascend to our Throne and claim your birthright. Now, young Fullmetal...it's time to wake up. Your Guardians and family are coming. You don't want to leave them, do you?"_ said Giotto gently.

He woke up screaming, but he felt a surge of power wiping out the drugs they had shoved into his system. He always hated needles, but now he positively _loathed_ the damn things.

With a strength he didn't know he possessed, he managed to rip the bindings off his arms and clocked the first bastard he could get his hands on.

A single clap later, and the table was turned into a solid steel spear, the bindings turned into wrappings.

He was like a demon possessed, but his mind was completely calm. He had never really held Hyper Dying Will mode for very long before, but if it meant getting out of this hell he would keep it up for as much as he could.

He followed his intuition into the deeper parts of the lab, trapping or beating the hell out of anyone who got in his way.

When he found the locked door, he smashed it open.

He was positively pissed when he found what was inside.

" _Are you coming or not?"_ he asked in Italian.

The one with the mismatched eyes blinked at him for a moment, before he let out a sinister (and rather weird) laugh.

"Kufufufu... _Are you here to save us?"_ he sneered.

" _If you want to stick around here, be my guest. I'm going to make them pay for kidnapping me,"_ said Tsuna flatly.

The mismatched eyes looked at him, before a smirk appeared.

" _Chikusa, Ken, wake up. We're leaving for good."_

The way the two followed his orders reminded Tsuna of the way Haruto acted in a serious situation. They trusted the older boy completely and wouldn't hesitate to follow him.

Tsuna lead the charge, making sure to stay out of their way of getting a little revenge. He pointedly looked the other way as the Mist (Fon had explained the different colors and their properties to him) killed all the bastards he had trapped. Seeing the look the boy shot him, Tsuna gave him a flat one in return before saying bluntly _"I have a sudden case of 'not my problem'."_

The boy smirked even wider, realizing this boy really wasn't going to stop him from getting his revenge on the scientists who hurt them. The fact the golden eyed boy even went out of his way to insure that his minions were still safe from the bullets that were now flying everywhere and had that mysterious power that keep them safe only made him more interesting.

And then they got pinned. Every time they tried to go forward, the automatic guns nearly took their heads off, and the security was quickly swarming the area. Worse, they were calling in reinforcements from the lower areas.

It looked bad... and then the boy with the orange flames suddenly smirked.

"For the kidnapping and harm of my pack mate, I will bite you all to death,"snarled a familiar voice.

"Ahahaha...these guys don't too bright, kidnapping Tsuna," said another voice. This one held the suggestion of steel and impending violence, under it's laughing demeanor.

"Now, now children... don't forget to leave some to the professionals. Remember your first priority is to secure your Sky," chided a serene voice.

Tsuna grinned.

" _My family is here. Stick close and we'll get out of here for good,"_ he told them in Italian.

"Kufufufu..."laughed the older boy creepily. To be honest they were running on fumes anyway.

Hearing the welcome sounds of pain, Tsuna grinned and leaned back to watch the show. He'd only drop out of his current state once he was damn sure he was within _allied_ hands. Or at least had Kyouya between him and anyone stupid enough to come within range of the irate Cloud's tonfas.

So he was mildly surprised when a much bigger hand belonging to Xanxus picked him up by the collar.

"Brat. Explain."

"They got the drop on me, even though I knew trouble was coming. Hit me with enough chloroform that I was out before I realized it was coming," said Tsuna surly.

Xanxus glared at him, but he could already feel exhaustion creeping in.

The Wrath flame didn't even bat an eye at the addition of the Mist brat in Tsuna's group. Besides, he bore a disturbing resemblance to Daemon Spade, the original Mist Guardian of the Primo. Much like Tsuna's Cloud and Rain bore a shocking resemblance to the original Rain and Cloud Guardians of the first generation.

One was an oddity, twice was a coincidence... three times was a fucking pattern and he'd be stupid to miss it.

"Voi! What the hell happened?"

"Fullmetal was in Hyper Dying Will mode, likely for an extended period," said Xanxus flatly. He handed the brat over to Lussuria. The Sun took him without a word and frowned.

"Extreme Flame exhaustion, some lingering drugs in his system that seemed to be dissipating at an accelerated rate, and some minor injuries. At least a few weeks bed rest and no flame training for a while," reported Luss.

Xanxus grunted.

"Alright trash, clean house and make your own damn way back to the manor in Namimori!" he barked. Then he turned his attention to the trio Tsuna had picked up. "You can either join them or try your own luck outside."

Considering Haruto was already exercising his own limited control of Sun flames on the boy with the nasty gash on his face, and the way they all looked exhausted, it was clear they didn't have many options.

"Kufufufu... we're sticking with him," said the apparently leader who looked far too much like Spade, pointing at Tsuna with his trident.

"Tch."

By morning there would be nothing left of the Estraneo facility, and all their research was either burned or stolen. The Varia officers would be going over all of it with a fine toothed comb before either keeping the notes or destroying them completely.

They kidnapped the wrong Sky.

* * *

Iemitsu nearly had a heart attack when he got the reports in that his son had been kidnapped by the Estraneo of all people, and was fully prepared to go charging in to retrieve his son.

Lal, when she found out what he had in his hand, snorted derisively.

"Iemitsu, that's from _last_ week. Tsuna was rescued less than a full two days after his disappearance was noted and he brought home a new Mist Guardian along with the Mist's brothers."

Iemitsu blinked.

"How could you possibly know that much?" he demanded. How the hell did Lal know about his son's kidnapping before he did, much less his guardians?!

"Fon called and told me, just in case. That, and the brats are dead set on joining COMBUSIN once they're out of high school, and when they found out who I was..." she replied, shrugging. It was nice to be admired for her past accomplishments, not seen as the "failure of an Arcobaleno". To be seen as the teacher and respected for it, rather than as the one who kept CEDEF from imploding due to sheer idiocy.

Iemitsu scowled. Ever since that failed attempt to have Tsuna's Sky flames sealed when he was seven (and the still memorable incident when Timoteo returned from Japan and had suddenly gained a limp from a _five year old),_ he had been unable to protect his sons from their world. Xanxus had taken a liking to his sons, and worse, had threatened to give Mammon full permission to let the fact the Vongola had attempted to seal a powerful Sky, a mere child at that, slip to the rest of the alliance if they didn't back the hell off on the issue.

Mammon was nothing if not efficient. The Vongola couldn't handle a massive blow to their reputation if it got out.

So the issue was dropped. And now his little Tuna-fish was paying the consequences.

Lal watched her idiot boss and scowled. The man's tenuous hold on reality had the worst habit of slipping when his sons were mentioned. Especially Tsuna.

* * *

Tsuna was pouting, but he didn't complain. He was still recovering from holding onto his Hyper Dying Will mode for over three hours when he could barely hold it for one. Which meant no flame training, very light martial arts, and he had to deal with one of the Varia with him at all times.

Until he was back up to fighting condition again, he wasn't allowed to do much of anything fun.

At least he managed to convince Mukuro (the creepy Mist with the mismatched eyes) not to go on a total revenge streak against the mafia. Instead the Mist agreed to at least limit himself to the ones that really deserved it... the ones that were highly unlikely to have strong allies that would track him and his little brothers down to get their own revenge. Much less have the Vindice after his ass.

Mukuro had claimed Chikusa (the silent Rain) and Ken (the energetic, dog-like Sun) were his lackeys. But Tsuna was adamant that they had to be his brothers, because the only time he ever saw the expression they had for Mukuro and their conviction to stay by his side was with Haruto.

Needless to say Haruto got along very well with Chikusa and Ken, because they recognized a similar devotion for his older brother.

Eventually the Mist caved at the hopeful looks of Ken and Chikusa at the thought of being his younger brothers, rather than just mere lackeys.

Lackeys were replaceable. Family was not.

Annoyed, he took a walk, not even bothering to register Fon's silent presence on his shoulder.

Mammon had at least confirmed that whoever kidnapped Tsuna was a professional, and that the boy had done everything right when his intuition warned him. The adult had simply been better.

Of course he couldn't use his new trick until his flames were back to normal, since whatever happened when he clapped his hands and used the gift Giotto had awakened inside his soul reacted, it used his Flames.

So when he found himself in the park, not really remembering the walk there, his frown turned to directionless rage when he registered what he was looking at.

It was a girl about his age, if not a little younger, who looked so vulnerable and weak it set his blood boiling. She was clearly abused and she reminded him painfully of Haruto.

Tsuna calmly walked over to the swings and sat down on the one next to her.

He said nothing, just sat there casually kicking the swing back and forth. It was mostly to direct some of his restless energy.

"Why do people hurt each other?" asked the girl. She sounded so lost and broken that it _hurt_.

"Adults are fools and think that just because they're bigger they have the right to hurt others for their own amusement," said Tsuna.

The girl's right eye was completely blind, and she flinched at loud sounds.

Tsuna slowly, and with calm obvious movements took the girl's hand.

"My name is Tsuna. Do you have anywhere else to go?" he asked gently.

She shook her head.

"M-my name is N-Nagi," she said, trying not to cry.

"This is my Teacher. His name is Fon," said Tsuna. Fon smiled at her, but kept his silence.

Tsuna got up from the swing. Nagi looked disappointed, like she expected him to leave her alone. Instead she squeaked when he picked her up and had her ride on him piggyback style.

"Why?" she said with a squeak.

"Because you remind me of my little brother Haruto, and I know we have room for one more."

Mukuro, Chikusa and Ken had one big bed in the spare bed room, since they preferred to bunk together. Nana had taken to mothering the orphans whenever they let her.

Nagi was still shell shocked when Tsuna calmly brought her home. One look at her and Nana simply refused to let the girl sleep on the streets, and was already giving her more food than she knew what to do with.

It was nice.


	6. Chapter 6

It took Nagi a few days to get used to the new house she was in before she relaxed. Of course what she didn't know was that her "mother" had been discreetly told of the consequences should she dare try to retrieve her daughter, or come near the home.

The woman had been glad to be rid of Nagi, even if she forgot to change the will.

It took even less time and some encouragement from Haruto before she started calling Tsuna "nii-san" along with the rest of them. Save for Mukuro and his group anyway.

She felt happy and safe around her big brother. He only had to glare at the scary children who had the same look as her mother and they backed off.

"Carnivore, when did you adopt a kitten into your pack?" demanded Hibari. He was scary, but he didn't have the same feel as "mother", so that was okay.

Tsuna patted her on the head gently.

"The kitten wasn't being raised properly by her litter and was cast out. So I decided to bring her into mine," said Tsuna.

He found it easier to convince Hibari to go along with his mad schemes by using animal references. It worked really, really well with Ken too, amusingly enough.

The feral Sun was happy to be part of such a strong pack, and was ecstatic to have such a strong, protective Alpha that went out his way to make sure the pack was safe from harm. He even got Mukuro-sama... no, the older boy had finally relented and allowed them to call him "Mukuro-nii"...to acknowledge them as his litter mates.

It wasn't much, but it meant that Mukuro acknowledged him and Chikusa as people he was willing to protect and care about. They weren't disposable.

"Wao. What is her place in the pack?" demanded Hibari.

"For now she's a cub, at least until she grows some proper claws and fangs," said Tsuna.

Hibari was satisfied with that answer. Cubs were to be protected and cherished, but kept out of the way of the carnivores. She had the potential to join them, but for now she wasn't of interest. Well, outside of the fact that the Alpha had clearly taken her in as his new litter mate.

However if there was one thing that bugged Tsuna, it was the fact that Nagi was legally blind in one eye. He didn't like seeing her with an eyepatch, even when she tried to hide it with her hair.

So he decided to do something about it.

* * *

"Hey Mammon... do you have Verde's contact information?"

"I do, but why do you need it?" said the Mist suspicious. Until Tsuna was back to normal, the Varia was working out of Namimori. If not for Tsuna, Xanxus would have gone on a rampage against Nono when he found out he was adopted.

Instead he chose to hold the fact that the old man couldn't even defend himself properly from a five year old over the old bastard, and kept hinting at letting the full story of why he now had a slight limp out to the alliance. If not for the fact that it was entirely possible Iemitsu would attempt to seal his sons again once Xanxus was out of the picture (as he was the main force behind keeping them from considering it a viable option), the Wrath _would_ have gone on a rampage for certain.

Tsuna considered Xanxus family, and his opinion mattered more to the man than his _adopted_ father.

"He will not work for free," said Mammon flatly. She held out a hand, and Tsuna rolled his eyes.

"What if I had something to offer in trade?" he asked, handing over his recently acquired card. It was connected to a bank account that held most of his...illegal...winnings. Tsuna didn't know what the Japanese had against monetary gambling, but the second Mammon had found the underground betting rings, he had been making a real killing at them.

Mostly because he had Haruto hold the actual cards, while using whatever telepathy they had to tell him when to call or fold. Mammon had cackled when she realized what they were doing, especially since no one suspected the innocent looking boy of cheating.

There were no Flames or tricks involved, and they couldn't do anything against Haruto without actually _proving_ he was cheating. Not with Mammon there acting as his guard.

"What do you plan on offering, Fullmetal?"

Tsuna reached into his bag for a notebook. When Mammon realized what she was looking at, she gave Tsuna an incredulous look.

These were design schematics for an advanced prosthetic. Ones that were above and beyond even what the _mafia_ had available.

"Where did you get these?"

"Remember that weird vision I got from whatever they shoved into me in that lab? I woke up one morning and found my notebook filled with these. They're called 'automail', full steel prosthetics."

He didn't understand _half_ of how it worked, but he knew they did.

"...I'll contact Verde for you..." said Mammon.

"In exchange for?" asked Tsuna with a raised eyebrow.

"Twenty percent if these prove viable," said Mammon immediately.

"Deal. And if anyone tries to copy them, then you get to rip the idiots a new one and rob them blind."

Mammon cackled.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Fullmetal."

* * *

Verde was definitely a mad scientist, but the second he got even a _hint_ about this "Automail", which fit in rather neatly with his own expertise in robotics, he was hooked.

When he met the boy who had apparently copied something from a memory he didn't understand, and he was almost disappointed. He had hoped for a scientific prodigy. Instead he was merely the vessel for the information.

That disappointment lasted all of five minutes, when Tsuna saw some of Verde's own work, and began throwing scientific jargon most children wouldn't understand the half of, much less use _correctly_. He asked _intelligent_ questions and actually understood the answers.

Verde was openly smiling, sitting on the boy's shoulder. Once he realized what he was dealing with, the boy showed a genius that was extremely rare to find, with all the passion of a true researcher. Seeing the almost eleven year old zone out so completely while reading _his_ research almost brought a tear to his eyes.

Almost.

"So you wish to replace the eye that your newest addition lost due to abuse."

"Mammon said that it would take too much concentration to recreate it with Mist flames. Something about the eye being too complex and needing a permanent connection to the brain, which has unnecessary risks. However a _robotic_ eye made of nanites..." said Tsuna.

"Hmm. Micro technology research _has_ been rather stunted of late, and I could use a proper assistant that understand my work... and to be quiet honest it has gotten rather irksome dealing with idiots of late."

"I heard they're planning to make a new shopping center in downtown. If we work fast we can get in on the project and make our own base and proper research laboratory, and since it's in a city it would make getting supplies much easier. Especially since we could have Mukuro hide any...unusual...purchases."

Verde's glasses gleamed.

"I have the feeling this is the start of a profitable partnership," he said, holding out his hand.

"Likewise," said Tsuna, eyes gleaming.

Verde had no interest in resurrecting the dead, and as long as he kept his human experiments to people who actually deserved it, like mass murderers or serial rapists, he could ignore any inhumane experiments.

"Why do I have the feeling an unholy alliance has just been unleashed?" sighed Haruto.

"Come on Haru, you know this is going to be fun! How often can someone actually keep up with us? I mean outside of Shōichi?" said Tsuna, eyes gleaming.

Shōichi Irie was one of the few who knew what a genius Tsuna actually was... and he absolutely commiserated on how dead boring normal school could be. The two had met entirely by accident, but when Shōichi realized Tsuna not only could keep up with him, but had an equal interest in inventing things or at least the research aspect, the two became kindred spirits.

As such whenever Shōichi was stumped on how to proceed, he would often visit Tsuna and Haruto for help.

Tsuna still thought Byakuran was weird as hell, even if it was pretty obvious the albino had a thing for his friend.

Meh, not his problem and so long as Shōichi was happy he wouldn't comment. Who he loved was his own business.

"Another child that might be able to contribute?" said Verde in anticipation.

Tsuna grinned, and it was an expression Verde was intimately familiar with.

"Hey Teacher, want to go with me while I abduct Shōichi from his projects? Since Xanxus-nii refuses to let me go anywhere without a proper escort?"

"But of course," said Fon amused.

And by proper escort, Xanxus meant one of the Arcobaleno or his own men. Though Colonello supposedly was planning to let his contract with Mafia Land lapse for a bit to train Tsuna and Haruto. After hearing about them from Lal, how could he possibly consider doing otherwise?

They wanted to be military, he'd be happy to train their asses into the ground and teach them the proper discipline. Even if they were snatched up by the Varia, at least he could claim they were his students.

Shōichi mostly squeaked when Tsuna broke into his room, grabbed him and then took him off to who knows where with the toddler on his shoulder. He was used to Fon by now.

However the second he realized _who_ Tsuna wanted him to meet, he fainted.

Verde, _his idol_ , was planning to stay in Namimori for the near future!

Tsuna cackled and started taking plenty of blackmail pictures. Byakuran, the marshmallow obsessed nut, would pay a lot for these.

He blamed Mammon for getting him in the habit of blackmail. Not that he was complaining mind you.

* * *

 _In Italy..._

Byakuran heard his e-mail chirp at him, and grinned when he saw the text.

 _Have new pictures of Shōichi. He actually_ fainted _when he realized I was introducing him to his idol. The opening bid starts at 20,000~_

Tsuna was a devious child, so very different from his alternates. Byakuran popped in a few more of his favorite treats, before he started haggling with Tsuna over the pictures of his Shōichi fainting.

He managed to get it down to a cool 39,000, and grinned widely when he saw the look on the red head's face upon meeting Verde. He cackled with delight. Totally. Worth. It.

Tsuna was so amusing, and it only got better up close.

Most, if not all of his alternates were shy, skittish kittens who had their flames sealed until Reborn came and kicked them in the ass.

This one though... he was downright hilarious and so very interesting! This Tsuna wasn't a lion, but more of a Liger like Xanxus. One that took his "pack" seriously and was very protective of his younger sibling. The few alternates of Tsuna that had actual siblings was usually overshadowed or even bullied and abused outright by them because of the seal. And where most of his alternates could barely "meow", this Tsuna had the habit of roaring with pride, and unleashing his claws on anyone stupid enough to threaten his pack.

And his temper! It was hysterical to watch the normally soft spoken Tsuna go off on someone for something minor!

Byakuran giggled and popped a few more of his soft treats into his mouth with glee.

Tsuna-kun was far too amusing to simply observe, once Reborn showed up he fully planned to go to Namimori and watch the show up close.

* * *

A boy about twelve frowned. It had taken a lot of his considerable skill to get to Japan, especially without the proper paperwork. He had always been fascinated with Japanese culture, and he hated having to give up his suckers.

He was having withdrawals, dammit!

But all his sources said the same thing. Verde had moved into a _civilian_ town that was practically teaming with Flame Latents, retired Actives, and if rumor was to be believed, an Active Sky that still had positions open for Guardian status.

He didn't care about the whole Guardian thing, but he did care about meeting his idol.

He sighed, and slipped out of the alleyway...and walked right into a kid about his age muttering something with annoyance under his breath. The two crashed, and he winced.

"Sorry," he said with accented Japanese.

The kid blinked.

"No, I'm probably as much to blame as you. I tend to zone out while reading, especially if it's interesting."

He took a look at what the kid had been reading. It was a science book that seemed waaay above a normal a normal kid's level. And he had called it _interesting_.

"The name's Spanner," he said, holding out his hand.

"Tsuna," he said, shaking it.

"You like science?"

"Makes more sense than people do," said Tsuna shrugging. He had finally been let off of the medical restrictions, and the first day walking by himself he crashing into someone. Figures.

"Tell me about it! Robots are easier to understand than adults!" said Spanner without thinking.

"You like robots? Are you a fan of Battlebots?" asked Tsuna.

Spanner rolled his eyes.

"Please, I can build a better robot than those amateurs!" said Spanner proudly.

Tsuna blinked, looked at him closely before he smirked.

"I think you'd love a friend of mine. He enjoys building robots too, though he despairs at finding people who can keep up with him," said Tsuna.

Somehow he had the feeling Spanner would love meeting Verde.

It was around that time Spanner's stomach let out a loud sound of protest. Tsuna grinned.

"Come on, I know a great sushi place and I'm sure my friend wouldn't mind meeting you while eating."

Verde couldn't cook anyway, so he often ate take out.

Seeing Spanner nearly faint upon meeting his idol, Tsuna snickered. He could tell right away Spanner was a Lightning Latent, which meant with the right nudge he'd easily take the post as his Guardian.

That wasn't to say Verde hadn't become part of his Sky, it was just that he felt far too guilty asking his fellow researcher and scientist to act as his Lightning when he was much happier in R and D.

Needless to say there was very little argument from the newest addition to his group, and Spanner gleefully took over the top bunk bed in Tsuna's room when the boy brought him.

Haruto preferred using Tsuna as his giant teddy bear, and almost never slept on the top bunk. This was probably the first time it had actually been used as anything but an impromptu storage space.

Nana was just happy to have a full house, including a little girl she could spoil rotten.


	7. Chapter 7

Tsuna's "Automail" was an absolute success, especially among the mafioso. Mammon was already cackling at the amount of money she was making dealing with idiots trying to rip off the designs.

The 'automail' was unlike anything available on the market, and once people got used to it there was little doubt it would soon be offered on the civilian side.

Mafioso weren't as picky about whether something was safe or not so long as it _worked_.

And while the initial recovery time was very irritating, it could easily be sped up with the judicious use of Sun Flames and the fact that it worked almost identical to how a real arm or leg should made it an instant hit.

Suddenly players that had dropped out of the game because they lost a limb were making a major comeback.

Reborn, the world's greatest hit man and Sun Arcobaleno, was torn between being pleased to see some actual competition who could give him a run for his money coming back, and having to deal with more idiots after his title.

However, it was his reaction to _seeing_ what this new medical discovery that would spark a rather amusing reunion between the "creator" and the hit man.

You see, Reborn had memories of his past life. Memories he knew damn well weren't his own, that had fueled his drive to be the best.

If there was one regret Reborn had, it was not meeting the brilliant Sky his past self had known and protected as his Storm. The man had been his superior, but he had acted more like the father the boy and his brother had been missing their entire lives. A man who had guided and protected them as best he could from the side lines.

He wanted that Sky back. The boy was a brash, hot headed genius who got in over his head, but he shined so brightly that he didn't really mind. He understood what loyalty was, and would not hesitate to jump into the worst hell on earth if it meant protecting what was his.

Reborn watched the sun go down. He had thought he found his Sky in this life time, but Luce had been a poor replacement at best. Her betrayal had cut deep, and had reaffirmed his desire to never harmonize with another Sky again unless it was _his_ Sky. That shining bundle of determination and power.

* * *

Tsuna sneezed. Someone was talking about him again. Strangely, he had the weird feeling he should know who it was, and that he had once been close to them.

"Sawada! So nice of you to join us!" sneered the teacher. The science teacher hated Tsuna, because he was always sleeping in class, and yet looked more bored than anything when he demanded the brat answer the hardest questions he could give a student.

Worse, Tsuna always got them _right_ , with answers that were above his own understanding on the subject.

Tsuna rolled his eyes. The ONLY reason he bothered with school was because Haruto had trouble keeping up with his talks with Shōichi and Spanner, and was more of a social creature than Tsuna cared to be.

Considering an in-depth exam of his Flames had revealed he had a Cloud secondary, it wasn't that shocking he preferred to be holed up in the research lab with Verde and the others rather than stuck in a school for hours on end bored out of his mind.

Hell, it even explained why he got along with Kyouya scarily well.

Hibari's territory didn't clash with the one Tsuna had made around himself. He protected their home, Tsuna protected their people. And may the gods have mercy on anyone stupid enough to threaten the peace of Namimori _and_ the "Pack" as Kyouya had deemed them.

Which was rather ironic considering Tsuna was more like a tiger or a liger (absolutely not a lion, especially considering Iemitsu's nickname as the young lion) than a wolf.

He was beyond happy when school ended...he headed straight for the labs and jumped into research with glee.

Takeshi was playing baseball, and Haruto was busy making dinner, since he knew perfectly well that once the four got into research mode it was almost impossible to get them to take care of themselves. Especially his brother, who could zone out for hours and not even realize time had passed.

Haruto smiled when he heard the familiar hiss of Kaimen, Verde's alligator. He patted the reptile on the head and put a small plate of food and a hot beverage on his back. The alligator hissed, before ambling back to his human partner. The two of them had an agreement ever since day one... Haruto would make the food and drinks, and Keiman would deliver them to the others.

And if this arrangement meant he got more snacks, well, the alligator certainly wasn't complaining. Verde had mostly made a device that feed him regularly every couple of hours, since he sometimes went so deep into research that he forgot to do it.

It was one of the things that he was able to bond with his mother over. Tsuna had little interest in learning how to cook, but Nana had been delighted her youngest son had a knack for it. Someone had to keep the hot head alive when they moved out of the house, and while Tsuna could at least trap and kill food, he wasn't that good at cooking it unless you liked things burnt.

Haruto was humming something his mother often did while doing housework, while he doled out food and drinks, or in the case of a very frazzled Shōichi, some stomach medicine and a stern hand that lead him to the nearby futons to sleep.

"Sho-chan~!" said a familiar voice.

Haruto turned to find a certain albino menace (according to Tsuna, who said this with an eye roll...while at the same time counting his money from selling pictures to said menace) in the door.

"Hello Byakuran. I just sent him to sleep. He's been up for three days straight with Verde," said Haruto. Normally he'd bother with honorifics, as it was only polite, but the Europeans insisted that they be dropped and it had become a habit. He only used them while in Namimori now.

Byakuran cooed and petted Haruto on the head.

"And what of the little tiger?" said Byakuran with a grin.

Hearing a curse nearby as the sound of many, many books fell down, Byakuran perked up.

"Never mind," he said cheerfully.

"I'll get started on some marshmallow pie," said Haruto grinning.

Byakuran perked up at that, and cheerfully went to bother Tsuna. Honestly, poking at his fellow Sky was such fun!

Haruto went right to work making dessert. Byakuran was weird, but rather harmless... even if he annoyed his brother something fierce.

* * *

If there was one thing that seemed to endlessly fascinate Verde, it was _alchemy_.

Normally he would dismiss such a thing as ancient nonsense to explain science. A bunch of fairy tales that were of no use to a mind such as his.

Except when he saw what Tsuna could do with "transmutation circles", and the way that they followed a strict rule of equivalent exchange... that was not magic. It was an unknown science that adhered to specific rules and imposed punishments for breaking them.

Chief among them, trying to bring the dead back to life.

Such nonsense was above Verde's ambitions, but he found Chimeras endlessly fascinating. That, and it was helping to advance his research into box animals.

Tsuna was a fascinating subject, and a worthy assistant. He was a true scientist at heart, even if his skills at fighting were above and beyond Verde's own.

So naturally Verde was more than a little miffed when he saw his assistant and his brother go positively "gaga" over Colonello of all people.

The blond had been caught off guard when the two registered who he was, and was completely speechless hearing the rapid fire questions from the two about his days in COMSUBIN.

Fon chuckled.

It was times like these that the duo actually acted their age.

Verde sniffed in annoyance.

Colonello finally got over his shock and without thinking twice barked out an order for calm. Seeing the brothers fall into military precision made him do a surprised double take.

The evil grin on his face could have made lesser men run. Instead it made the two boys grin in challenge.

Still, once their excitement was let out, Verde found himself being carried by an amused Tsuna while Colonello and Fon sat on Haruto's shoulders.

"What are you doing?"

"You need to get out of the lab and Mama has been asking us to bring my friends over more. She keeps hearing about you from Spanner," said Tsuna.

Verde blinked, but was still pouting. He wasn't jealous dammit!

So why did it feel so nice when he somehow ended up in the odd puppy pile that was Tsuna's bed, along with his fellow Arcobaleno? He fell asleep easily against Tsuna, who had his right side taken by Haruto while the Storm and Rain either curled up against him or took a pillow.

He did not cuddle, and he would deny it if anyone asked.

At least Tsuna and Haruto woke up early enough that they were able to avoid waking the other two with Colonello's insanity. What mad man actually _enjoyed_ getting up that early anyway?!

* * *

 _Colonello POV_

It was official. He absolutely adored these two brats. Not only did they have the instinctive discipline of someone trained in the military (especially the older), but they didn't bitch and moan like most of the idiots he had to deal with.

Colonello enjoyed training rookies and shaping them into real men. Sadly, he didn't get to have as much fun because the only ones who could come to Mafia Land were all spoiled brats.

But these kids (more like teens, really since Tsuna was almost fourteen)... they brought back the spark he thought he had lost years ago. They had the fire in their souls that made his trainer's spirit dance with glee. More than that, they actually _listened_ to his instructions and followed through with teamwork that made him weep with joy.

He knew from Lal that they had cut all ties with Iemitsu ages ago after he tried to have them sealed when they were kids. And the man came home so rarely that the closest thing they had to a father figure was Fon.

Though they mostly called him "Teacher".

If he was ever freed from his curse and had kids, he hoped they were like these two. Throwing around banter with Tsuna felt like he was back in COMSUBIN with his fellow soldiers, minus the alcohol.

Too bad they couldn't afford his fees. He'd love to have a contract to turn these two into proper soldiers so they could skip the worst of basic training once they were old enough.

And then he found out how much Tsuna had in his bank account, and nearly did a jig.

Screw Mafia Land...he was in a total rut there and bored out of his mind. He'd rather stay here and train these two!

"Does it bother you?" asked Verde one night. Fon looked up from where he was reading something on a tablet. "Being bonded to a child?"

"Do you really see a child when you look at him?" asked Fon.

He wasn't blind, he knew if only by word of mouth what it felt like to be part of a Sky. And ever since he came back from Italy, Fon had felt that warmth in his chest. That feeling that he was home and wanted.

Tsuna accepted him completely, trusted him without hesitation and treated him with absolute respect.

It was nice, and something he'd kill to keep.

And from the way Verde looked around Tsuna, he knew it was the same for the Lightning. Hell, Colonello had damn near adopted the two the first chance he had and was usually with them the second school let out.

They had found a home where they belonged, for the first time since they were cursed. And they were _happy_.

Verde's eyes softened, which was rare for him.

"No. I look at him and see someone aged beyond his years...but at the same time there's still a sense of innocence."

Tsuna acted older than he was a lot of the time, but there was still an innocence about him. It was strange, but there was no way any of them would _dare_ consider stripping it from him or his brother. The world had not broken them yet.

And Haruto... he was genuinely kind. The sort of person who could befriend hardened criminals without batting an eye. Case in point, Mukuro and his group.

Verde's eyes suddenly shifted, as if he remembered something.

"In fact, he feels..."

"Feels what?" asked Fon.

"He feels almost like Reborn for some reason," admitted Verde.

There was always this sense back before the curse that Reborn was waiting for a specific Sky, and he had taken the betrayal of Luce the hardest. The first few years had been rather... unpleasant, to say the least.

Fon blinked, before he thought that over.

"You're right, he does feel like Reborn. Except it seems Reborn has given up hope of finding the Sky he's... you don't think?" said Fon, eyes wide.

"It's possible. You and both know that Tsuna and his brother are reincarnated from someone else. It's possible Reborn would recognize him if they met."

"We should introduce them when he's released from his contract with the Cavallone," said Fon. Verde nodded.

If anyone deserved to find their Sky, it was Reborn. Though whether the sadist would take to someone as open as Tsuna was debatable.

* * *

"Shishishi... why are you taking the Prince to Japan?" demanded a blond boy.

"There's someone I want you to met, if only to get you out of my hair to count my money for a while. Now shut up or I'll put it on your tab," said Mammon crossly.

She hadn't been able to sleep in the Varia mansion with the amount of racket that had been happening, and Belphegor picked the worst time to come and bother her. She'd gladly dump him on Fullmetal and his brother for a few hours so she could nap.

On top of that, Squalo had given her permission to have a week's vacation so long as she took the Prince with her.

"Shishishi... these peasants had better be worth it."

"Considering the older one is like a calmer, less angry version of the Boss and the younger one is a Sunny Rain who can beat even Lussuria in a fist fight, you won't be too bored," said Mammon, holding out her hand. Belphegor handed her a card without a care. What did he care for money? He was a Prince.

Then it registered.

"A calmer, less angry boss?" he repeated incredulous. That he would _pay_ to see!

Mammon chuckled darkly.

"I didn't believe it at first either, but the way he glares is a dead match for the boss," said Mammon.

He had somehow dyed his hair black and when he put in some red contacts he had given Enrico nightmares of a mini-Xanxus who liked knives and punching people more than guns. One who flipped off whenever his small height was mentioned.

She had made a lot of money keeping the photos of him fainting private, though Xanxus still brought them out when he needed a good laugh.

Of course what would come from the meeting with the unofficial Xanxus clone and the Prince would come to haunt them. Though she fully blamed Haruto and his damn personality for it, even years later.

If only because the way the Prince acted when the younger, seemingly more innocent boy wasn't around was a total pain in the _ass_ to deal with, especially when bored.


	8. Chapter 8

Belphegor was laying on the grass, panting but with the wildest, most delighted grin on his face.

Mammon hadn't been kidding. It was like fighting a less angry Xanxus who was very skilled with his fists and used a sword the same way Squalo did except on his right arm.

And that was before the tiger started guessing what he was going to do before he did with his wires. He had noticed them almost immediately and was able to calculate as fast as the Prince himself could once he saw even the slightest change in the glint.

It. Was. Awesome.

"Shishishi..."

"You have one of the _weirdest_ laughs I've ever heard, bar none," deadpanned Tsuna, though he had just as big a grin on his face. "But damn if you can't fight as hard as Kyouya when he's pissed!"

He had to fight to his limit just to keep up, but it was so much fun he didn't particularly care. The way the wires would suddenly change the direction of the knives, how the other boy proved he was just as quick as him when it came to calculating quick trajectories... there was no way he was killing Belphegor, not when it meant he finally had someone who could actually keep up with him in a no-holds-barred fight.

"Are you two done yet?" asked an amused voice.

Haruto threw Tsuna a towel, and then calmly handed Belphegor a cold drink.

"Shishishi..."

"Mu. Are you two brats done yet?" said Mammon.

"The Prince is not a brat, Mammy~!"

Mammon looked at Belphegor and saw something that was quite rare. Belphegor looking genuinely happy and relaxed.

Hearing a phone go off, Tsuna looked at the number and groaned.

"We need to leave, fast, before Kyouya gets here. Otherwise he'll want to join in and then bitch about the fact that we played without including him," said Tsuna.

"Shishishi... why not stay?" asked Belphegor, grin wide.

"Do _you_ want to deal with a bitchy Cloud with a fixation on biting who happens to be related to the Storm Arcobaleno?" deadpanned Tsuna. Seeing Bel's grin falter, considering how exhausted he was, Tsuna smirked. "I thought not. Come on, I'll treat you to lunch."

Belphegor's good mood returned, and his opinion of Tsuna only went up when the other lead him straight to a restaurant owned by someone he had "played" with before and lost. The man knew how to make good sushi.

"Shishishi..."

Tsuyoshi didn't bat an eye when he saw the Prince. The kid always paid, left generous tips, and he kept his "playtime" firmly away from his restaurant.

Realizing he was sitting between the hot head and the calmer younger brother, Belphegor blinked.

Most people didn't want to be near him because of the usual sense of bloodlust he had around him and yet neither of them batted an eye. Even with Mammon sitting on his lap (mostly from lack of space) they seemed perfectly comfortable next to him.

It was confusing. And it only got more so when he was brought to the shared lab where Verde was working with two teens their age, arguing over some schematic.

Tsuna went to join the bickering trio with ease of long practice, and Belphegor soon found himself sitting in the kitchen while Haruto was making dinner, and cookies with strawberry filling for Mammon.

"You're not scared of the Prince?" he asked. He sounded so very confused, and it only grew when Haruto looked at him.

"Why should I be? You're not a monster, regardless of your habits."

Belphegor stared at him, floored. No one had ever said _anything_ like that to his face before. And what was more, he could tell the younger boy honestly MEANT what he said. That he didn't think the Ripper Prince was an evil demon.

"Ka-ching. I killed my own twin brother. Stabbed him 87 times with a knife and watched him bleed out," said Belphegor, mostly to see the boy's reaction.

Haruto barely raised an eyebrow.

"Some people don't deserve the title of family, and if he did something that made you snap and kill him, then he probably earned it," said Haruto flatly. "Though 87 does sound a little excessive."

Belphegor stared, in absolute shock.

No one, absolutely _no one_ reacted like that when they heard how he made his first kill. Especially when it was his own twin brother!

He was so thrown off his kilter that it took him several seconds to register that the younger boy was actually _hugging_ him, despite hearing that.

"What are you doing, peasant?" demanded the older teen. He had no idea how to react in this situation.

"Hugging you. Because you really look like you need someone to be there, even if it's just to listen," said Haruto, hugging him tighter.

He didn't even realize when he started crying, or register Mammon's presence. All he knew was that one minute he was absolutely still, the next his face was in the younger boy's shirt and he was holding him like his sanity depended on it.

Which it likely did.

Haruto gently stroked Belphegor's hair, careful not to dislodge the crown. It was important, after all.

Belphegor was laid down on a nearby couch, which was folded out to a makeshift bed. He whined at the loss of contact, but he seemed to all but purr when Haruto let him sleep in his lap once he finished making dinner.

Tsuna didn't even bat an eye at the sight. He could tell Belphegor really needed a friend.

Mammon was torn between selling the many, many pictures she was taking or keeping them in a scrap book.

* * *

Belphegor woke up feeling warm in a way he had never felt in his life, and it felt _good_.

Someone had their arms around his waist, and his head was against another's chest. Both bodies between him were holding him like he was something precious, like he was _wanted_.

He snuggled deeper into the one holding him in the front. A hand gently carded through his hair, making very sure not to disturb his crown. He purred against it. It felt nice, and safe.

"Mu. This is beyond adorable," said a familiar voice. He reluctantly opened up his eyes to see Mammon with her ever present camera.

He didn't want to get up. It felt too nice.

He heard a yawn behind him.

"Go back to sleep Bel," said a voice. It took him a moment to register it as Tsuna.

He didn't feel like getting up today anyway.

Mammon, Fon, Verde and Colonello looked at the positively _adorable_ puppy pile on the extended couch.

Never in a million years would Mammon have believed Belphegor would snuggle against another human being like this and not even attempt to bring out his beloved knives. He looked so innocent it was hard to describe in words.

The fact Haruto was still curled up against the Ripper Prince without even looking the least bit afraid wasn't too shocking... he could curl up against the Boss and not bat an eye, even when the man was pissed. Nor was the fact that Tsuna opted to simply cuddle with the blond who was firmly wrapped around his younger brother, with his other friend finding a place that allowed them access to the Sky while avoiding kicking someone else off.

There was a reason all their beds were so big, and it was because the boys didn't mind sharing.

"Good thing today is their day off. I wouldn't want to be the poor bastard that tries to dislodge the puppy pile from their sleep," said Colonello quietly.

Fon nodded in agreement.

Mammon was already taking pictures with her phone and starting bids on how much the other officers (save for the Cloud who should just DIE already) would pay to see this themselves.

Unsurprisingly Lussuria paid the most, if only to coo at the picture later... though the fact Xanxus was a close second was a bit startling.

It wouldn't be until close to one that the boys (and lone girl) started to wake up that the arduous task of untangling the limbs was performed. Haruto merely sighed when he realized how clingy Belphegor was around him.

He was like a stray cat that had found a new favorite human and was not in the mood to let go. It didn't help that the blond actually started purring when Haruto petted him on the head.

That Mammon _did_ sell to the other officers, because it was beyond adorable. She could practically hear Lussuria squeal with delight.

All too soon they had to go back, though Mammon did pause before they left.

"You do realize that if his attitude around you continues we're likely to kidnap you so you would have to deal with him when he gets in a snit, right?"

Haruto blinked.

"So long as he remembers not to go past second base until Haruto is sixteen and with his consent, I could really care less," deadpanned Tsuna.

"Brother!" said Haruto mortified.

"What? Anyone can see where this is heading, and as long as you're happy I really don't care if you fall for a guy or a girl. Besides, once teenage hormones hit it's unlikely you'll care either," said Tsuna shrugging.

Mammon cackled.

Then again Tsuna didn't notice the fact that Hibari, Mukuro _and_ Byakuran were starting to look at him with interest. Most of the girls he was around in school were not really his type, and considering what he wanted to do in life, odds were he'd have to wait a while before he found anyone he was willing to be with.

Either way, a new protocol was made for when Belphegor was being _extra_ irritating to be around. Xanxus would throw his ass on a plane straight to Namimori, and warned Tsuna of his arrival. Let them deal with the Prince in a snit. So long as he sent in his report, Xanxus didn't _care_ and neither did Squalo.

Besides, the horrified expression on Iemitsu's face when he found out about all this was so damn funny it still brought a smile on Xanxus' face. Especially when Mammon shared a picture of _both_ the man's sons cuddling with the homicidal teen.

* * *

 _Two years later..._

High school was _dead_ boring, worse than middle school. If it wasn't for the fact that he refused to let his little brother go to school without him there to remind the bullies there was a bigger fish that would kick their ass, he would absolutely skip it every chance he had.

It wasn't like he needed to graduate... like Spanner and Shōichi, he had multiple college degrees from online schools that would hold weight in the real world.

"Gah! I'm so bored!"

Mukuro and his group had moved out of the house and into the apartments below the labs where Spanner, Shōichi and Verde damn near lived.

Tsuna had debated on whether the best placement was above or below the labs, which took up an entire floor on their own and two more underground... but then he realized that if the apartments were below then Mukuro could just use the vents to send up foul smells (namely Ken's attempts at cooking) whenever his "neighbors" got too loud or annoying.

Needless to say the older teen had found that reasoning hilarious and loved it. He still found being around Nana, or "Mama" as she insisted they call her, disconcerting.

She was just so genuinely _nice_ that it freaked him out.

The most annoying thing was that Xanxus had flat out told him he wasn't allowed anywhere near Italy, much less the Varia headquarters.

Enrico's tragic death had only been the first, and the two others had followed soon after.

One death was tragic, two was a coincidence. But having all three of Nono's biological sons die within less than a decade of each other was a fucking pattern, and Xanxus would be damned if he let something happen to the two in Japan, especially since he was aware that he wasn't actually qualified to take the title of Decimo.

It had _hurt_ , like a sharp pain that refused to go away, but Tsuna and Haruto had gotten him through it.

They refused to consider Nono or Iemitsu family, but they wouldn't hesitate to call him "Big Brother" when they saw him. They didn't give a damn if he was some brat Timoteo had adopted from the slums with a whore for a mother and an unknown father. He was still family and that was all they cared about.

Tsuna stared out the window from the third floor and resisted the urge to yawn. The math teacher was incompetent, and he disliked Tsuna because the teen was always bored enough to actually sleep in his class, but was smarter than the teacher himself was. And they both knew it. There was also the not so small incident when the man tried to take out his annoyance and jealous on Haruto, only to end up with a book slammed into his head and the deadliest glare he had ever seen from Tsuna.

No one messed with Haruto, _especially_ in front of his older brother. Not unless they had a death wish of epic proportions.

And if they really pissed the teen off, he'd get the terrifying Demon Prefect Hibari to join him.

The teacher glared at him, but flinched when Tsuna's own golden brown orbs glared right back.

Finally school ended and they were able to _leave_.

Neither brother knew how much their lives would change in a few short hours.

"Tsu-kun! Haru-kun! Guess what I got in the mail earlier~!" said Nana happily.

Tsuna read the advert his mother had and raised an eyebrow.

"Mama, we don't _need_ a tutor," said Tsuna in exasperation.

"I know sweetie, but it wouldn't hurt to at least hear them out," said Nana, her eyes drifting to the frames on the wall.

Frames that held their college degrees when they were able to graduate well before they even left middle school. Most of them were Tsuna's, but there were one or two with Haruto's name on them.

In unspoken consent, these frames were always carefully packed away if Iemitsu bothered to show up. He hadn't cared about them in years, so why should they allow him into their lives now? It wasn't like he left any real contact information to begin with.

Tsuna didn't roll his eyes. He loved his mother too much for that, even if he was exasperated she had called this tutor.

He had his own social circle, he was well adjusted and he only went to school for his brother's sake.

He honestly didn't _need_ a tutor at this stage.

Hearing the doorbell ring close to dinner (Haruto was helping Nana with the cooking) Tsuna went to open the door.

The moment his eyes met with the Arcobaleno (he could tell this was Reborn from the mere fact he had a yellow pacifier and small lizard on his hat) he knew his life was going to change forever.

Reborn stared at Tsuna with no little amount of shock, and Tsuna stared right back.

Without even realizing it, Reborn cautiously asked...

"Fullmetal?"

"Colonel?" said Tsuna in disbelief.

"Brother, who's at the door?" Haruto called out. Reborn stared past Tsuna to the smaller boy helping the mother cook, and his eyes widened further.

"Reborn of the Arcobaleno is here," he replied and the moment passed. Though something lingered between them. A sort of memory that would not die down and would only bring a lot of unspoken questions to light.

Though one thing was for sure. Tsuna knew he'd never let Reborn down about the fact he was now _taller_ than him.


	9. Chapter 9

To say Reborn was in shock at finding his Sky now of all times was an understatement. But there was no doubt in his mind that this was the person he had been searching for ever since the memories first came back to him.

The memories of his past life as an alchemist. While he missed being able to set things on fire with a snap of his fingers, he didn't regret it. His life hadn't been easy, but seeing this teen and his younger brother, both whole and happy for once had made the entire reincarnation process worth it.

Even if he was confused on how they ended up reincarnated the in first place. This was clearly the other side of the Gate, but he had died on his side in his sleep.

He had no idea how he ended up here as a result.

Tsuna shook his head a bit. Supper could have been awkward, if Nana hadn't already been used to having the Arcobaleno over for dinner. She didn't treat them like children, but they all called her "Mama" anyway to her delight. Fon didn't mind if she cuddled him either, which made her day. She was really happy that the man left his apprentice in her care so he could do his job and train I-Pin when he could. He also made sure to seal her gift first.

Tsuna and Haruto had grown up far too fast, especially after the incident when they were five.

"So why are you here, Reborn?" asked Haruto.

Reborn blinked. It was going to take some getting used to, seeing both of them in _human_ bodies. Especially Haruto.

"I've been sent to train Tsuna into becoming a mafia boss."

Tsuna groaned.

"God dammit, now I owe him money!" said Tsuna in annoyance.

Reborn blinked.

"Who?"

"Xanxus! That ass bet Nono would send someone to train me into taking the place of Enrico and the others! We weren't expecting you to cut your contract with the Cavallone short though."

Reborn stared at him, hard.

"Explain. Now. All the files I was given state you're a civilian with no knowledge of the mafia, so how in the hell do you know about Xanxus and the former heirs?!"

Tsuna blinked.

"Who did you get _that_ from?" he asked baffled.

"CEDEF."

"Oh, well that explains it. Iemitsu is a moron, and in total denial. You'd be better off asking Mammon of the Varia for my real one."

Reborn twitched.

Haruto stared at him with wide eyes.

"Is that really you, Colonel?" he asked slowly.

Reborn sighed.

"Well you two weren't the only ones who were reborn into a new body, though I can tell you I was beyond angry when Luce got us all cursed. I still have no idea how I was reborn _here_ , and not our world. It took some time to get used to, especially when I realized my flame alchemy doesn't work anymore."

Tsuna blinked.

"What do you mean, doesn't work anymore?" he repeated incredulous.

His alchemy worked like it always had. At least it did when he got the memories of how to use it back.

"I can't recreate the circles or anything," said Reborn, almost miserable.

Tsuna got up and went into his drawer. He tossed something to Reborn, who stared at the white gloves in shock.

"We might have to find a way to adjust the size, but we haven't had any problems with it so far. I mostly made those as a joke," said Tsuna.

Seeing the hope in the man's eyes, Reborn managed to slip the gloves on. They felt so damn familiar it almost made him cry.

He tried snapping his fingers, with very little luck. But once he did and saw the small spark of flame, barely a candle's worth and felt that connection again...

He found himself being hugged by Tsuna.

He was home.

* * *

Verde and the other Arcobaleno, who more or less lived in Namimori permanently now, watched Reborn interact with Tsuna...and felt something relax inside them.

They could all tell he was happy, honestly happy, being around the boy. They interacted more like family than a tutor and his student, and Reborn's sadistic side was more at a low burn than anything. Even if seeing him wear smaller gloves like the ones Tsuna had custom made was a bit odd, they seemed to suit the man.

It was hard to believe after all this time they found their true Sky and a place to call home.

* * *

Tsuna looked at Gokudera with some amusement. The silver haired teen had no idea what he was getting himself into, but he had the feeling the guy would fit in with the "nerd quartet" as Reborn had flippantly called them.

The sun was more likely to stay in the kitchens chatting with Haruto and helping the younger boy learn little tricks with his Sun flames than listen to them discuss scientific theory, even if he was one of the few that could actually keep up with Verde when he got going.

He gave Reborn a look that practically screamed "Really?", before turning his attention to the hot headed Storm Latent.

Tsuna's grin was wide when Gokudera started throwing bombs, and with a clap he unleashed the Mist bindings on his retractable blade and cut them in half, causing the powdery concoction inside to spill everywhere.

Gokudera stared at him in shock, but gritted his teeth and kept on going. At least until Tsuna got bored and cut the bombs in half, spilling the dangerous powder all over him. One spark and he was in major trouble.

"You are a major hot head and far too quick to use mild explosives on little things. You're reckless and foolish to the point you endanger yourself and others with your behavior," said Tsuna flatly.

Gokudera flinched, with a resigned expression on his face. It was the same thing he heard from all the other Familigias he tried to join... no one wanted a hot headed Storm with very little of interest to show for it.

"I think we'll get along just fine."

The silver haired teen looked up at the warm golden-brown eyes of Tsuna in absolute shock.

"What?" he said, in disbelief. He didn't dare hope he had just heard him correctly. Reborn tilted his fedora to hide his smile.

Tsuna held out his hand, and Gokudera timidly took it.

"Welcome to the Pack, Gokudera. We might have to train you up a bit, but even I can see you've some some major potential just waiting to show itself."

Gokudera stared at him, tears running down his face.

Tsuna had _accepted_ him. He even said he had _potential_ , which was more than his own family ever did. He didn't even try to hold back his tears of joy when the slightly smaller teen hugged him.

"Is it over yet, brother?" said an exasperated voice.

"Haruto, meet Hayato," said Tsuna warmly. Gokudera could feel the love and affection in his voice.

There was a younger teen who was walking up with a taller one that had a baseball bat on his shoulder and a careless grin.

"So is he joining us, or...?"

"He might make a good Beta, once he settles in," said Tsuna. The taller teen grinned.

"Beta?" asked Reborn.

"It's an ongoing joke between brother and Kyouya that we're like a wolf pack," explained Haruto. "Alphas tend to take the lead, while Betas follow the Alphas."

"What about Omegas?" asked Reborn with interest.

"We don't have any, except for Mama and Kyoko," said Tsuna.

Nagi had renamed herself "Chrome Dokuro" when Tsuna declared she had gone from "puppy" to "Beta" once she started to come out of her shell more. The girl had been thrilled, since it meant Tsuna believed her capable of being an equal member of the Pack and not just an Omega who needed protecting. Even if she did tend to follow Mukuro's lead more often than not.

"And what would I be in this pack of yours?" joked Reborn.

"Elder wolf, same as the others," said Tsuna. And by others he meant the other Arcobaleno.

Fon, Colonello and Verde had all been very pleased at this description, since in general the "Elder wolves" didn't get involved in day-to-day fights of the Pack unless it was threatened by a greater force. They merely instructed the younger wolves when needed and watched them do all the hard work.

Reborn preened at the title, once he worked out what it meant.

"So who is the Alpha?" asked Hayato, curious. He wasn't very familiar with wolf behavior.

"There's three Alphas. Takeshi and Haruto, for example, are betas as well," said Tsuna. "The first Alpha, the one who leads the majority of the Pack is me. I take care of the betas for the most part and handle anything requiring diplomacy and care. The second is Hibari, who is more of a lone wolf who takes command during combat situations when I'm unavailable, though he leads his own pack of Betas he calls the Disciplinary Committee and for the most part he 'rules' Namimori, especially the school."

"And the third?"

"Mukuro's group. He technically leads his own pack, but they 'den' with us since his betas like being part of a bigger group. He's not exactly inclined to help if it's mafia-related, but he will if he thinks the pack is about to be threatened. For the most part we just tend to circle around each other like the moon does the earth, and stay out of their way," explained Haruto.

Hayato nodded.

"The irony being that Tsuna acts more like a tiger than a wolf," laughed Takeshi.

"So what's the difference between an Alpha and a Beta?" asked Hayato, fascinated.

"There are three general tiers of wolf packs. The first is the Alpha or 'dominant' wolves. These are the ones who generally lead the pack, and the hierarchy between them can change in any given situation. Usually though one Alpha leads above the others. Second is the Beta, or secondary wolves. They follow the lead of the Alpha, though they are no less dangerous. The main difference is that they are followers, not really inclined to lead."

"And the third?" asked Hayato. He didn't mind being called a "Beta wolf", since he had always wanted to be the right hand man of a Sky.

"Omega, which many considered the 'weakest', for some ridiculous reason. What you might consider the 'civilians' of the wolf pack, those that don't really fight or hunt. Most omegas are females, and they act as the breeders and nurturers of the pack. That isn't to say there aren't any male Omegas, but by and large they tend to be females. The ones in our Pack are Mama and Kyoko, who tend to stay on the fringes of our social structure. We keep them informed, mostly, but Mama's happier as a house wife and Kyoko understands that because her brother is one of my Betas, she's a target but also under our protection," said Tsuna.

They didn't drag them into the darker aspects of the world, but they didn't cut them out like Iemitsu did his mother. A fact Nana appreciated more than she could express.

Hayato nodded. The whole 'pack' analogy was rather simple, but it suited the role of a Sky and his Elements well. It was fluid enough that interpretation was simple and allowed for a more structured dynamic.

"What about an 'Elder wolf'?" he asked.

"Advisers," supplied Reborn. "Part of the pack and can be of any of the three tiers, but generally stays out of pack command except when it's threatened as a whole. Which fits my job description perfectly."

"The Arcobaleno who are living in Namimori all fall under 'Elder wolf' description and outside of training generally stay out of it. After all, it's _our_ job to deal with any issues that crop up. They've had their time running around and doing the hard work," joked Tsuna.

Hayato was nodding, even taking notes. This was fascinating. Then what Tsuna said registered and he stared.

"Exactly how many are here?" he asked in shock.

"Fon, Colonello, Verde and now Reborn, so four. However Viper tends to visit often with their partner (mostly because Belphegor gets snippy without visiting Haruto at least once a month), and we're still trying to negotiate with the Carcassa familigia to release Skull. Plus Lal mostly sticks around CEDEF to keep Iemitsu off our ass," said Tsuna. He looked at Hayato. "If you can keep up with some very in-depth science talk without getting lost, you're welcome to join us in the labs. Verde won't admit it, but he loves having Shōichi and Spanner around, and he's practically made me his research assistant since I can find his notes faster than he can."

"Considering the mess Verde makes of his notes, is that really surprising brother?" joked Haruto.

Hayato was wide eyed, but there was a definite smile on his face. He could grow to like this place... and it only got wider when Tsuna presented him with a key card to the apartments below the labs.

He refused to let Hayato live anywhere but in his base, since it was doubtful a half-Japanese teen would be able to get a decent apartment, especially if he tried getting a part time job.

That, plus the security system meant he would never have to worry about Bianchi breaking into his room ever again, and he could lock her out.

* * *

"DAMMIT COLONELLO! I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!"shouted Reborn. He shot at the annoying blond for waking him up obscenely early.

He might have enjoyed his past life, but there were a few things he definitely didn't miss. Waking up obscenely early, doing hellish amounts of paperwork and having to listen to his 'superiors' bitch whenever something went wrong were among them.

He had once briefly considered rejoining the military, but found he liked being a freelancer more. Especially when he saw the joke that was CEDEF. He openly pitied Lal for having to deal with that crap and having to keep it from imploding.

Colonello stuck his tongue out at Reborn while Tsuna and Haruto were dressed in rather impressive time. It made his old military instincts watch with approval.

Reborn, however, couldn't give a damn. He would rather sleep than listen to the blond yell at the boys on their morning exercises. He rolled over and went back to sleep within minutes.

Hard to believe Fullmetal had actually _enjoyed_ being in the military so much he was planning to join it a second time, though without having to resort to ridiculous measures to pull it off.

Tsuna had been disappointed learning that since he was now slated as the next heir of the Vongola familigia that he was technically ineligible to join COMSUBIN. And Haruto wouldn't even consider joining without his brother.

Where Tsuna went, Haruto faithfully followed without hesitation.

Didn't mean Colonello was going to let up on their training though. Not that they would have considered dropping it at this point. It was a habit for them to use military discipline in daily life. Besides, it would come in handy later.


	10. Chapter 10

Reborn looked at the locked door with some confusion.

"What in the hell are they doing in there?" he asked Haruto. The room was insanely soundproofed, and he was baffled as to why Tsuna didn't argue when Byakuran basically nabbed him and Shōichi, with Spanner cheerfully following behind.

"Stress release. That and it's to keep Byakuran from driving us up the wall with his schemes for world domination," said Haruto.

"Stress release?"

"They're teenagers. There's no adult supervision and the room is sound proofed. What the hell do you think they're doing in there, playing checkers?" said Haruto with a raised eyebrow.

Reborn choked.

He remembered how Tsuna was before he was reincarnated, and he was more interested in science and alchemy (and getting his body back) than in acting like a normal teenager. And his brother had been stuck in a suit of armor for that entire time, so he never had the hormonal impulses.

"Are you telling me they're..."

"Going at it like bunnies? Yes. Again, it's mostly to keep Byakuran sane because he has a vexing habit of following through on his world domination schemes he makes out of boredom if we don't distract him with something he likes more. Which in this case is Shōichi, but he doesn't mind sharing with others."

Haruto suddenly shuddered.

"We learned the hard way not to let his boredom get so bad that he actually follows through with his plans."

Reborn smirked, still reeling a little bit learning Fullmetal did acknowledge his hormones in this life.

"Now I have to know."

"Let's just say Verde was sleep deprived when he went along with it, and it involved marshmallow Peeps. A _lot_ of marshmallow Peeps."

"Details!"

Verde heard what they were saying and scowled.

"I thought we agreed never to speak of the incident again."

Reborn's grin was evil.

"I have to hear this now. What could possibly have Verde react like that?"

Fon's usual smile cracked a bit.

"We agreed never to speak of that again."

"He's not going to give up until he hears what happened, is he?" asked Haruto.

"It's Reborn. He's stubborn as a mule," said Verde crossly.

The trio shared a look.

"Fine. Brother kept an incident file as a warning why Byakuran is never allowed a dry spell. Ever."

Reborn raised his eyebrow. And then he had to work very, very hard not to laugh his ass off when he saw what happened.

A sleep deprived Verde, a bored and horny Byakuran, and a disbelieving group of Fon, Spanner, Shōichi, Tsuna and Haruto all watched as the two lightnings duked it out with armies of marshmallow Peeps.

" _What the hell is going on?"_

" _Sho-chan! Check out my new army. Aren't they adorable?"_

" _I will defeat your pathetic army, you ingrate!"_

" _...I... there are no words for this. Right, Shōichi, you deal with the marshmallow idiot. Fon, you corral Verde into a room to sleep it off. Spanner, help me build a microwave gun and so we can blow these damn things to hell. Haruto, get working on dinner."_

" _Yes sir!"_

" _God this is going to be a total pain in the ass to clean up..."_

Reborn was cracking up.

"So what was with the microwave gun?" asked Reborn.

"Marshmallows inflate when inside a microwave for at least a minute," said Haruto. "Since there was no way Verde would have bothered to remove the soft quality of the sugar, it was unlikely they would have any defenses against it. That and he wasn't about to expose anything in the labs to large quantities of water to dissolve them."

"How long did it take you to clean it up the mess?" asked Reborn.

"A week. I don't know why but those idiots animated over two thousand of the damn things," said Haruto, twitching.

"And they didn't die if destroyed, oh no. They _combined_ with each other to the point that they made new armies," said Fon twitching.

"And Byakuran came up with it out of boredom. When he realize Verde was too tired to think straight he jumped on it," said Haruto. Verde grumbled under his breath.

"And the _only_ reason he went through with it at all was because Shōichi, Spanner, and Tsuna were all at a tech conference, while Haruto was busy dealing with Belphegor," said Fon.

"What exactly is Haruto's relationship with that psycho anyway?" asked Reborn.

"Belphegor isn't used to people actually listening to him, and then telling him he's not an evil monster. The fact I don't dismiss him as a nuisance like everyone save Mammon does meant he attached himself rather quickly. Especially when he found himself curled up next to me one morning," said Haruto.

"He's not used to being given _positive_ physical affection, though Tsuna made it clear he wasn't getting anywhere other than second base until Haruto is at least sixteen," said Fon. "When he's actually calm, he rather tolerable to be around. He was probably very lonely for a long time."

"There's also a standing order in the Varia that states whenever the Prince is impossible to deal with that he is to be shipped straight here, so Haruto can calm him down," said Verde amused.

Reborn looked at Haruto.

"He acts like a lazy cat, and I treat him like a friend. That and I feed him. Mama doesn't mind so long as he behaves," said Haruto.

"Not my problem," said Reborn after thinking on it. Belphegor was technically part of the Vongola, and if Haruto felt like catering to the bratty prince it wasn't his place to say. "Though how is he going to react when you finally meet a girl?"

Verde snorted.

"You really think he's going to let a girl get close?"

"One word: surrogates," deadpanned Haruto without hesitation. Reborn choked on his coffee. "Besides, I'm planning to have the same deal brother has with Mukuro and Hibari once we hit that stage."

"What deal?"

"They have a sparring session and the winner tops," said Haruto. Reborn choked again.

* * *

Tsuna was running late, as Haruto had gone ahead early today to help Hibari with his paperwork.

"Oof! Sorry, Kyoko-san," said Tsuna.

"It's fine, Tsuna-san," said Kyoko. She knew of him, vaguely, through her older brother.

Ryohei had tried to get Tsuna to join the boxing club, and he declined. However Tsuna came back an hour later in a different outfit and offered to fight him in the ring, since it was unlikely he had any decent opponents in the club. He was the most enthusiastic member of the boxing club and he often joined Tsuna and Haruto on their morning runs...and sometimes the evening ones too.

Ryohei had been surprised when Tsuna and even Haruto joined him in the ring, but once he got over it he was really happy. They made a point to come by at least once or twice a week to give him a decent match.

The fact Tsuna and Ryohei bonded over the joys of being the older brother meant they were rather close. They wouldn't hesitate for a second to jump into a fight to protect their siblings.

Some people might think Haruto was Tsuna's Sun Guardian... but they would be wrong. Ryohei was.

He went to school, unaware of the headache about to head his way.

 _A few hours later, at lunch..._

Mochida stomped up to Tsuna's desk and loudly declared "I challenge you to a duel for Kyoko-chan, Sawada!"

Tsuna blinked, slowly putting his chopsticks down and staring at Mochida with disbelief.

"Why?"

"Everyone knows you're going steady with her," he said as if it were obvious.

Haruto suddenly snorted in amusement. Tsuna looked at him.

"Brother, it seems people think you're dating Kyoko because you're often seen around her house," he explained.

"Gods, not that stupid rumor again! The only reason I go there is to help Ryohei with his homework...he's so focused on his boxing that his grades slip, and I get paid with free food to keep him from falling below a C," said Tsuna exasperated.

Mochida didn't believe him.

Tsuna sighed.

"If I agree to fight you, will you drop this ridiculous idea?" he asked.

It wasn't that he had anything against Kyoko... it was just that reminded him and Haruto way too much of their mother for them to even consider a potential romantic partner. Besides, Haruto had Belphegor, who was a needy, jealous thing that would take it very badly if he dated anyone else.

Not that he would. The bratty prince had long since grown on the two.

Tsuna sighed.

He didn't enjoy fighting civilians all that much...namely because his training put him so far and above most "normal" people who couldn't even handle Kyouya in a forgiving mood and bored.

However he disliked the way Mochida had just decided on his own that Kyoko was _his_ , and that he had every right to 'win' her from Tsuna simply because he was tutoring her brother.

Which meant he had just earned a spot on Tsuna's "list of people who deserve a _mild_ lesson" list.

Reborn was almost certain to enjoy the show at least.

 _After school..._

Seeing the sword and armor on the ground, Tsuna rolled his eyes. He wasn't going to be fooled by such an obvious trick...he could see the floorboards bending _slightly_ enough to indicate that they were under an unusual amount of weight.

Did they really take him for an idiot?

Sighing in exasperation, he took a stance.

"Let's get this over with."

Mochida charged like a wild bull. It was so obvious and full of holes that Tsuna barely did more than take a step to the left to dodge. His movements were all open and too direct.

And this was the state of their kendo club? How did this idiot make captain?

With a single punch to the solar plexus, Mochida coughed once before keeling over out cold.

Stunned silence filled the gym.

"And that is the difference between our skill level. Though perhaps Kyouya should _really_ look into the state of our fighting clubs if this is the best our kendo team can offer," he mused loudly enough to be heard. Seeing the stunned looks on the faces of the other team members, he tossed them Mochida's sword. They almost didn't catch it.

Takeshi was a better fighter than this idiot, and he was more interested in _baseball_.

He left the gym with a bored look on his face.

"Nicely done, putting that puppy in his place."

Tsuna didn't have to turn to see who was talking.

"Well maybe if the mutt hadn't tried to challenge an alpha wolf to an omega under his protection..." said Tsuna smirking.

Because seriously, Mochida was a pampered house dog to his alpha wolf. And Kyoko didn't seem to mind the designation of Omega when he explained the social structure of the pack to her. She was to be kept informed when her brother was involved with Tsuna's pack, but not to be involved unless absolutely necessary.

It gave her something in common with Nana, who was more than happy to teach her some tricks to help keep the boys fed.

Kyouya hummed, clearly pleased Tsuna hadn't held back when a mere _dog_ challenged him. He had been quick, efficient and he made a clear point without useless movements.

There was a reason why he acknowledged Tsunayoshi Sawada as an equal predator, and would humor him when it came to protecting the Pack.

"By the way, if that was seriously the best the kendo club has to offer then perhaps they could use some...remedial...training," said Tsuna impishly.

Kyouya's answering grin was positively demonic.

"That is surprisingly vindictive of you, Tsuna," said Reborn amused.

"Like you didn't enjoy the show. I've heard about your sadist tendencies Reborn."

The Sun smirked and jumped onto Tsuna's shoulder.

"So where to next?"

"I heard a decent movie came out. You interested?"

"Why not. What about Haruto?"

Tsuna had his custom made phone and texted his brother and the others.

"They'll meet us there. I could convince Mukuro to hide your espresso once we reach the theater...as long as he keeps Ken from eating all our snacks again."

"I would have thought you'd get the pirated copy and watch it on a projector or something."

"Where's the fun in that? Half the fun of going to a theater is getting a spot in the back and then throwing popcorn or ice cubes at people who are really annoying during the boring parts! And with your skills, we could make a game of how many people we annoy," said Tsuna grinning.

Seeing the look of evil amusement on Reborn's face, he knew he had his interest.

And yes, they did annoy the hell out of the other patrons (without being busted for it) by throwing ice cubes down the backs of the really loud and obnoxious people who were talking too loudly or had their phones out.

Mukuro had great fun putting people into illusions and then having them walk into walls or into the guard rails after the movie was over.


	11. Chapter 11

Tsuna's hand lashed out and snagged something that was attempting to slip past him and into the house.

"And who would you be, little one?"

"I am the great Lambo-sama!"

Dear gods, it was like dealing with Skull again. They had _finally_ earned the Cloud's freedom from the Carcassa, and he was cheerfully acting as Nana's bodyguard in exchange for protection from Reborn's boredom.

Tsuna looked the kid over. He looked like he hadn't had a proper bath in days, let alone a decent meal. The onesie was cute and it was clear he was going to be a handful.

"What do you want to eat, little cow?" he asked. The kid looked like a little cow. Haruto was going to love him, he could just tell.

Lambo stared at him, before he declared "Grapes!"

Tsuna grinned and took him to the table. He sat the kid down before pulling out a decent bowl of recently bought grapes, and a plastic glass of milk. He also made himself a sandwich.

Lambo perked up at the food and was soon devouring his bowl of fruit and drinking his milk with a silly grin on his face.

"So what brings you here little cow?"

And his good mood vanished. What idiot sent a _five year old_ to assassinate someone like Reborn? There was little chance Reborn would kill him, but the mere fact Lambo was even given an assignment like that was Stupid on a level that deserved someone getting shot for it.

"Dios Mio, is that damn cow here?!" complained Reborn.

"Reborn! Prepare to die!" shouted Lambo, pulling out an actual gun.

He was swiftly disarmed by Tsuna.

"Now, now Lambo. Guns and other weapons aren't allowed at the table. Even Reborn has to follow that rule," said Tsuna gently but firmly. "And if you behave, then you can have some grape jello later."

Lambo turned to look him.

"You promise?" he asked. There was something in his voice that said people had a bad habit of breaking their promises to the kid.

Tsuna patted his head.

"I promise. And if we're out, then I'll personally go to get some, okay?" he said gently, hugging Lambo to him.

Lambo snuggled into the hug, trying not to cry.

"Who's this?" asked Haruto, seeing the little kid hugging his older brother.

"Lambo of the Bovino famiglia. I'm guessing he tracked me down intending to 'kill' me," said Reborn in annoyance.

"Be nice," said Tsuna. "Haru, can you get dinner started? I don't think Lambo's had anything to eat in a few days at least."

"Sure," said Haruto, moving to get his apron.

"In the meantime, how about a bath?" said Tsuna.

He liked kids, enough said.

Lambo was a bit of a handful, but once he realized that they weren't going to kick him around or bully him like everyone else did, he seemed to calm down. Though it didn't hurt Tsuna put a firm stop to him trying to attack Reborn.

And then the Ten Year Bazooka made an appearance, and things got weird.

"Onii-san!"

"Eh? Lambo?" said Tsuna in surprise. This Lambo had clearly filled out to be a looker, and he could tell the formerly hyper brat had grown into a decent fighter. It was in the way he held himself.

"I'm Lambo from ten years in the future. It only lasts five minutes. Thanks for taking me in all those years ago," said Lambo.

"Like I'd let a five year old wander around trying to attack Reborn of all people without giving him some stability," said Tsuna embarrassed.

"You were the only one who bothered to take me in and treat me like I was family, despite what a brat I was back then."

Tsuna smirked.

"I have just one question... Do Belphegor and Haruto remain the same, even ten years from now?"

Lambo had to snort.

"Haruto is considered the unofficial Varia therapist," he said flatly. "And Belphegor is particularly clingy if he thinks one of the recruits is eyeing his boyfriend up."

Tsuna snickered.

"That's all I needed to know."

"Coincidentally there's an ongoing joke that you have an all guy harem. And... I probably shouldn't be saying this at all, but you should really look into Mukuro's dad."

He disappeared with a poof, leaving a happy five-year-old Lambo with a grape sucker.

"Hey Lambo...how would you like to stay with us for a while?"

Lambo perked up.

"Really?"

"I'm sure Mama would love having a little boy like you to spoil around, and you can learn from your big brothers until you're ready to try school. How does that sound?"

Lambo hugged his leg. Haruto easily picked him up and gave him a firm hug.

"Welcome to our family, Lambo-kun," said Haruto firmly.

The little bull was quick to take advantage of the "puppy pile" in Tsuna's bed, and managed to snag a spot between him and Haruto.

* * *

 _The next morning..._

"Who's the kid?" asked Spanner, only noticing the brat because he was swiping suckers from his bag.

"This is Lambo. He's staying with us from now on," said Tsuna. "He's also a Lightning."

Spanner bent down a bit.

"So you're called Lambo. What's your favorite flavor?" asked Spanner.

Lambo was hugging Tsuna's leg, but he blinked.

"He likes grapes," said Tsuna.

Spanner reached into his side bag...and to the delight of the five year old pulled out a purple sucker. Once he tried it, his face light up.

"I never really like the grape flavored ones anyway. Just try not to destroy things too much, okay?" said Spanner.

Lambo nodded.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" he asked, eyes wide and innocent.

Spanner patted him on the head. After the kid had run into the lab while laughing loudly and basically acting like a brat, he had calmed down almost immediately when Tsuna entered the room.

"Because you're not the only loud one here," said Spanner. He pointed to Verde, who was arguing with Shōichi over something. "See him? When he doesn't get his naps he get really cranky and hard to deal with too. And he tends to shout when he's hungry."

"That reminds me..." said Tsuna, handing Lambo over to Haruto for a moment. "Hey Verde, do you think you could do a basic DNA comparison test?"

Verde barely batted an eye.

"Of course! Someone of my incomparable genius could perform something as monotonous as that! Why? Hoping Iemitsu isn't really your father?"

"No, but something Lambo's future self hinted at had me wondering about something we all took as a weird coincidence."

"That brat has the ten year bazooka?" said Verde immediately.

"Bribe him and run any future experiments past me first and we'll see about you playing with it," said Tsuna.

"Agreed."

It took a little convincing (mostly on Mukuro's part) for them to part with a little saliva.

Within a day, Verde had the results.

"I'll be damned. Somehow, I had a feeling this was what he meant but I never thought..." said Tsuna, looking at the results. Verde was leaving it to him whether or not the two were informed. He spotted Fon. "Could you bring Mukuro and Chrome here for a minute?"

Fon blinked, before going off to find the two Mists.

Within ten minutes they were both in the lab, wondering why Tsuna had called for them.

"I have some news. Remember when I asked to borrow your DNA a day and a half ago?"

Mukuro tightened his grip on his trident. Chrome just looked confused.

Tsuna, with a swipe of his finger, sent the results up on the monitors. The two Mists stared at it without understanding.

"What are we looking at, dear Tsuna?" asked Mukuro annoyed.

"This is your DNA profile," he said, pointing at the one to the left. "This is Chrome's. Notice anything?"

"Not really Boss," said Chrome.

Tsuna swiped the page again, this time a graph appearing. It took Mukuro a moment to realize what he was looking at.

"Fifty-six percent _match_?"he said in shock.

"According to the DNA test I had Verde run, Chrome is your biological half sister on your father's side. Which...explains a lot actually."

Like why Chrome looked so much like a younger, female Mukuro.

"Brother?" she repeated in shock. She looked ready to collapse in disbelief.

"How did you know?"

"The little cow we took in has something called the Ten Year Bazooka. He mostly threw out a hint that we should look into your father, so on a hunch I asked Verde to run a comparison between you two. Lo and behold, there was enough of a match that it became obvious," said Tsuna, shrugging. "At most this means she's a permanent part of your pack. I'm sure Ken and Chikusa will be thrilled once the shock wears off."

It also meant Chrome's odd crush on Mukuro died a painless death. Somehow he didn't think incest was one of her kinks and Mukuro was more likely to be an overprotective bastard towards her after this.

* * *

Chrome was laying on her bed, thinking. Finding out Mukuro-sama was in fact Mukuro- _nii-san_ had come as a shock. Once the disbelief had worn off, he had disappeared, likely to mull things over.

He had always been rather fond of her, and somehow she didn't think much would change finding out they were related.

However it did present a slight issue.

Namely that upon finding out Mukuro was her old brother, that any desire to be at his side in all ways had died a quick, painless death.

She had a yaoi fetish (mostly encouraged by Tsuna's stress release, on top of what Ken and Chikusa got up to when they thought no one was paying attention) but incest was definitely not something she was interested in.

There was someone she was interested in, but she was too scared to admit it out loud. The last thing she wanted was for her feelings to be rejected on account of being considered a sister-figure rather than as a girl.

"Kufufufu... having deep thoughts, imouto?"

Chrome nearly bolted upright. Well at least Mukuro seemed to be embracing the news. That was encouraging, right?

Chrome nodded, putting her head on her knees as Mukuro entered her room.

"I can still hear your thoughts, little sister. So you're interested in Tsunayoshi?"

She blushed.

"Kufufufu... well you could have picked someone less tolerable. Like the birdy," said Mukuro, sitting next to her. She leaned into him, which he permitted. "Of course there is a slight problem with that."

She immediately became depressed.

"You're two years too young for him to consider you one of his bed mates," finished Mukuro.

"What?" said Chrome, startled.

"Kufufufu... Tsuna is very firm on the age limits of people he'd consider one his 'playmates'. No one under sixteen. If you haven't noticed, he must have instinctively known we were related once you were relocated into my 'pack', and has slowly moved you away from the 'little sister' figure when you became a beta. So there is a chance you could become that person for him."

Kyoko was firmly out because she was A, an Omega and B, because she looked and acted far, far too much like Nana for Tsuna to like.

He did _not_ have an Oedipus complex, thank you very much.

Tsuna liked strength, or at least the ability to match him in some way to the point he considered you an equal. Kyouya was the same in that regard, though he had yet to match Mukuro the same way he did Tsuna when he was _that_ bored.

Chrome felt a spark of hope in her chest.

"If you can get stronger by the time you're sixteen, you'll be a potential candidate to act as his girlfriend. He'll have to continue his line somehow, so it might as well be someone he already trusts than some fool girl who can't hold her own in a real fight."

Chrome hugged him.

Mukuro had his own reasons for encouraging his _sister_ into pursuing Tsuna.

He knew the teen would never hurt her and would treat her with the utmost respect. Even if he did have an odd agreement with several of the others, Mukuro knew Tsuna would never look at another girl that way if he was dating Chrome.

"Thank you, Mukuro-nii."

"Kufufufu... I'd rather you date him than some fool who would only break your heart," said Mukuro flatly. "Now I believe...Mama... and Haruto have cooked something up to celebrate the news?"

Chrome perked up at that.


	12. Chapter 12

The news that Bianchi, Hayato's older half sister was in town, was not met with open arms. Far from it.

She tried to trick Tsuna into taking one of her poisonous concoctions, only to end up with a fist in her face, breaking her nose.

"I should reprimand you for hitting her like that," said Reborn.

"She's a hit man. If she can't handle something like a broken nose then she should quit the game," deadpanned Tsuna with zero sympathy. "Girls are just as deadly as men."

Reborn hummed. Then he noticed Tsuna cracking his knuckles in anticipation for a major brawl.

"Besides... I've been wanting to have _words_ with her ever since Hayato let it slip she regularly poisoned him without a thought for the consequences or the damage done. Older siblings are supposed to _protect_ their younger brothers and sisters, not use them as guinea pigs for poisons," said Tsuna darkly.

There was a reason his favorite character of all time was "Ichigo Kurosaki" from _Bleach._ He could absolutely empathize with the main character.

He had the entire series (both the manga and the DVDs) and every game that ever came out.

Bianchi narrowly dodged the second punch, and wondered why Reborn wasn't stopping his new student from trying to cave her head in.

"Brother! What are you doing?" said a voice. She turned and saw a younger boy looking right at Tsuna.

"Haru, this is _Bianchi_ ," he said, as if that explained everything.

"Oh. I'll tell Kyouya it was a false alarm then and to keep the civilians and Hayato clear of the area until you've expressed how displeased you are at the damage she did to your Storm Guardian," said Haruto.

Tsuna's grin was not comforting. At all.

Bianchi thought he was some worthless brat tying her precious Reborn down and away from her. Instead she founds herself facing an Alpha wolf who was very pissed off for her past actions against one of his pack.

And Reborn was watching it all with an amused expression on his face.

"Tsuna, try not to kill her."

"I can still lightly maim her right?"

"So long as I can heal the damage later," said Reborn dismissively.

Tsuna clapped his hands together and slid his left down his right arm...revealing a retractable blade hidden by Mist bindings and a feral grin on his face.

"It's about time someone taught you how older siblings are _supposed_ to act," he said with no little amount of vindictive glee.

 _Three hours later..._

Hayato nearly had a panic attack upon learning his sister was in town. At least until he heard where she _was_ at the moment.

"Wait...how did she end up in the hospital?" he asked in shock.

"She ran into Tsuna-nii and tried to poison him, thinking he was completely in the dark," said Haruto, as if that explained everything.

Hayato stared at him.

"What."

"Tsuna took great offense to the fact your half sister thought it was perfectly acceptable to use you as a test subject for her poisons, without regard for how much damage it would cause you both physically and psychologically. That the first thing she did upon seeing him was try to poison him with a can of juice... well, that was just poor planning and really bad luck," said Reborn.

Poor planning in that it was almost common knowledge that Tsuna was technically considered "Varia Quality", meaning he wasn't entirely oblivious to the Underworld or it's players. Or the fact that she should have known before arriving that Tsuna had taken her brother as his _official_ Storm Guardian, which meant if she had succeeded in killing him, it would have hurt Hayato greatly. Possibly to the point of sending him into Discord.

That she tried to poison him without even introducing herself, thinking he was an easy target...well, that was just bad luck.

She should be grateful Tsuna only beat the living hell out of her for that stunt and for her past crimes against her younger brother, rather than kill her for it.

Hayato stared. He was still in shock Bianchi was in the hospital because of what she did to him and the fact she went after the wrong person.

That someone actually _gave_ a damn about the pain she had caused him for years to the point they were more than happy to teach her why such behavior would no longer be tolerated.

He was in such shock that someone actually cared about him that he barely registered someone pulling him into a hug. Once he realized who it was, he wrapped his arms around Tsuna without hesitation.

"You're one of _ours_. We're not going to let anyone hurt you like that again, even if she _is_ your sister. Above all, the Pack protects it's own," said Tsuna, rubbing Hayato's back as he cried.

Until Bianchi learned the error of her ways, or with any luck _left_ and never came back, Tsuna was placing a guard around Hayato.

The woman had already displayed a callous disregard for her brother's health and well being, and since she _claimed_ she wanted to "protect him", there was a high risk she would attempt to approach him alone. And that was not acceptable.

He was not above having her shot if she tried something against the Pack.

* * *

Bianchi woke up in the hospital, and found Reborn waiting. Any joy she might have felt at that went away at the look on his face.

"Bianchi, what in the hell were you thinking, going after Tsuna like that so blatantly? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"You shouldn't be teaching someone as weak as him! He's just a pathetic civilian!" she protested.

Reborn's expression was incredulous.

"Where did you hear that nonsense?" he said baffled.

"Everyone knows Iemitsu had his son sealed when he was younger, and that he's been kept in the dark until now!"

There was complete disbelief.

"Bianchi...where did you get such ridiculous information?" asked Reborn slowly, as if talking to a child.

"It's common knowledge in the Alliance. Nono mentioned it when asked about Iemitsu's son," she replied.

Reborn rubbed his face in annoyance. Then he tried another tactic.

"Bianchi, did your father ever bother to explain about Dying Will Flames, and how Skies attracts Elements? Or what happens to their Guardians when a Sky is _murdered_?" he asked patiently.

"Of course he did!"

"Then why in god's name did you think it was acceptable to try and kill your younger brother's Sky? Did it _ever_ occur to you that it could very well send Hayato into full Discord with that sort of stunt?"

Bianchi was silent. She had been so focused on "freeing" Reborn that she hadn't even considered how her brother might react. After all, what are the odds that he had harmonized with a Sealed civilian Sky?

"And let's not forget that you attacked _MY Sky_ right in front of me. You should be glad I let Tsuna handle I rather than get involved for that stunt."

She stared.

"What?!"

"Tsuna is my Sky. More to the point he's also the Sky of most of the other Arcobaleno, save for Viper and Lal Mirch. All of whom would gladly gut anyone stupid enough to come after him with the intent to kill him."

Bianchi paled. Even she wasn't stupid enough to piss off the Arcobaleno.

"You need to seriously think about your actions and whether or not you want to stay. If you really _do_ want to try and reconnect with your brother, you'll have to live with supervised visits. I have it on good authority Tsuna has ordered that a guard be placed around Hayato until you leave and that you are not allowed thirty feet near your brother until you start to show actual concern for his health and well being instead of acting in such a selfish manner without regards to the damage you're doing to him."

With that, Reborn left the room leaving a stunned Bianchi behind.

* * *

It had been a week since Bianchi's arrival, and to some surprise she hadn't come anywhere near her brother.

Hayato had at first balked at the fact he was assigned a guard (usually either Takeshi, or one of the Arcobaleno when they were free).

Then he heard _why_ Tsuna had issued that order, and became quiet. Almost uncharacteristically so.

It wasn't that Tsuna was expecting Bianchi to attack her brother. But more that he was making a very public show that Hayato was one of _his_ Pack, and that he was not letting her near him considering her previous and open disregard for her brother's happiness. That she attacked Hayato's Sky with the intent to kill him over false information and an obsession with the Sun Arcobaleno didn't speak well of her mental health.

You didn't need to be sane to be a hit man (or woman, in this case), but there was no way in hell Tsuna was letting her near until she started to show some mental stability on par with Belphegor when he wasn't in his Prince the Ripper state.

Realizing Tsuna actually _cared_ that much about him to the point he thought Hayato was worth protecting... it cemented his loyalty to the teen even further. It made his flames purr like a contented cat, knowing his Sky treasured him so much.

No one had cared about Hayato before, at least not after his mother died. No one had ever thought him as something precious to be protected. No one had wanted a hot headed Storm with a knack for blowing things up and a quick temper.

So when he heard that his "sister" (and how it grated on him to call her by such a title, seeing how the others treated their younger siblings... even Mukuro, the creepy bastard that he was, treated Chrome better than Bianchi had _ever_ treated him) wanted to talk, he almost gave a flat refusal.

Only the fact that the Pack had made it clear that they would be there the entire time kept him from telling her to go to hell. Even Hibari was taking time out of his "schedule" to be there.

The fact _Hibari_ was planning to be there as well had been the reason why he agreed to meet her. Though he wouldn't be looking at her face...just the mere thought of being close to Bianchi made his skin crawl and his stomach go into cramps from the _memory_ of those damn poisons.

Hayato didn't even complain when he felt the cooling sensation of Takeshi's Rain flame, or the comforting warmth of Haruto's own Rain on his leg. Feeling the gentle, if protective presence of Tsuna's Sky allowed him to relax.

Because he didn't look at Bianchi, he completely missed the shocked...and guilty...expression on her face.

The look she had on her face at the moment said volumes about how she was starting to realize what she had just tried to take from her younger brother.

Hayato had never fit in with her family. He was the unwanted bastard child, one that was _barely_ tolerated. When he had run away, the only person who had given a damn enough to go looking for him was her. Their father certainly didn't give a crap if his only son was killed on the streets.

And yet here... Hayato was accepted. More than that, he was considered precious, to the point that even the Cloud with a penchant for violence had thought him worthy of protecting.

He was _happy_ and _wanted_ here. And she tried to kill the person who accepted him and gave him a home.

The feeling of absolute shame was not one she had experienced before. She would need some time to think things over, before she approached her brother again.

 _The next morning..._

Reborn watched Bianchi leave.

"Well that could have gone much worse," he commented.

"Define worse," said Haruto.

"She could have been even more stubborn and completely ignored the fact Hayato was actually happy here and continued to attack your brother."

"Hayato is Pack. If she had pressed the matter we would have made it clear the error of her ways," said Haruto without hesitation.

He might be a peaceful person in general, but when his family was threatened he became almost as vicious as Belphegor when he was Prince the Ripper.

No one threatened the Pack.

* * *

Tsuna had an exasperated look on his face. Nana and Kyoko had a rather amusing expression on theirs.

"What do you mean when you said that I was an Omega?" asked Haru.

After a rather awkward situation involving the Miura Haru taking offense to the fact Reborn was training Tsuna in how to take over the Vongola... Tsuna had realized there was a strong possibility Haru was not going away soon.

(She was under the mistaken impression that the "baby" was an innocent angel, which had Fon and Colonello who happened to be within earshot to suddenly break into incredulous laughter at the idea of Reborn being "an innocent angel"...)

As such, he made the executive decision to leave her in the capable hands of his mother and Kyoko. This would have also included Kyoko's friend Hana, except the girl had demonstrated multiple signs of being a "beta", rather than an "omega".

She was still trying to get over her aversion to small children so she could train with Colonello in using sniper rifles. So far there was limited success. They mostly pulled it off with Haruto correcting her aim while Colonello barked instructions through a radio.

"Simple. Since you're determined to be part of his group, you're automatically given a designation within the 'pack'. There are three official tiers, with the fourth being an outlier group. There's the Alphas, who act as the leaders, Betas, who are as combat capable as the alphas but with no inclination to actually _lead,_ and then there's us. The omegas, who act as the silent support to the other two. We're not directly involved, but we're still actively protected and kept informed by the rest," explained Kyoko.

At least that was how Tsuna had explained it, once she found out by accident her brother was part of Tsuna's Pack. Once she was introduced to Nana, or "Mama", she had accepted her role as one of them without complaint.

Haru looked at Tsuna.

"And you're saying I'm a caretaker?" she asked flatly.

"You're a civilian who hasn't shown any ability towards active combat. But you've made it clear you're not going to stay out of our business or at least will keep getting into trouble by stalking me. It's easier to simply place you with the Omegas now than have to rescue you constantly, and it means you'd be kept in the loop," he said deadpan.

Haru considered that, before she nodded. She could live with being an "omega", since the idea of fighting wasn't really her strong suit.

She was someone who enjoyed cosplay and cooking, not fighting. And once she got to know Kyoko and Mama, she felt right at home.


End file.
